Anthony Fauci, the former head of the US infectious diseases unit, has received “credible death threats” over his time overseeing the country’s fight against Covid-19, he has told Congress.
Fauci, who was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during the height of efforts to halt the spread of the virus, told a hearing on Capitol Hill that the threats continued to this day, even though he retired in 2022.
He told a subcommittee of the House of Representatives Oversight and Accountability Committee that that included his wife and three daughters and that he needed 24-hour security protection.
“There has been everything from harassment via emails, text messages and letters to myself, my wife and my three daughters. There have been credible death threats, which have led to the arrest of two individuals,” Fauci said.
“Credible death threats mean someone was clearly on their way to kill me, and that requires me to need protective services almost constantly. It is very difficult for me. It is much more difficult because my wife and my three daughters are involved at these moments.”
When asked by Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell of Michigan how he felt, Fauci, 83, appeared to visibly shake with emotion before answering, “Terrible.”
When Dingell asked if he was still receiving threats, he replied: “Yes, every time someone stands up and says, I am responsible for the deaths of people around the world, the threats increase.”
Fauci was defended by Robert Garcia, a Democratic congressman from California, after he was attacked Marjorie Taylor Greenethe far-right Republican from Georgia, who refused to recognize his professional status as a doctor and attacked the pandemic measures he had advocated, such as masking and social distancing.
“Do the American people deserve to be abused like this, Mr. Fauci, because you are not a doctor, you are Mr. Fauci,” Taylor Greene said, before being interrupted for a point of order and told to turn to Fauci refer. like a doctor.
Garcia apologized to Fauci over the questioning of Taylor Greene and other Republicans, saying, “I’m so sorry you just had to go through that. That was completely irresponsible. This may be the most insane hearing I have ever attended.”
Garcia described Fauci — who said in his opening statement that he wanted to tackle information and disinformation during the pandemic — as “an American hero.”
“Your team has done more to save lives than all 435 members of this body on both sides of the aisle,” he said.
On Twitter/X, Garcia, who told the hearing that both his parents had died during the pandemic, called Taylor Greene “a national disgrace.”
