The founder of America's Frontline Doctors -- the physician group notorious for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 -- confirmed that she participated in the riot on Capitol Hill last week.
Simone Gold, MD, JD, a California doctor who has touted the benefits of hydroxychloroquine and raised unfounded concerns about the COVID-19 vaccines, admitted to the Washington Post that she joined the mob that stormed the Capitol last Wednesday.
Gold was initially identified via social media, after the FBI posted "wanted" images of rioters who breached the Capitol. Gold was seen in photograph #21 holding a megaphone. A video of Gold making a speech to insurrectionists inside the federal building has also circulated online.
Gold confirmed to the Post that it was indeed her in the image and the video. She added that she followed a crowd inside the building and assumed it was legal to do so. She did not respond to a request for comment from MedPage Today.
America's Frontline Doctors made headlines this summer when several of its physician members held a rally in front of the Supreme Court this summer, spreading misinformation about hydroxychloroquine, protesting lockdown restrictions, and questioning the effectiveness of masking. Since then, the group has attempted to incite public fear about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Following last week's deadly insurrection on Capitol Hill, in which a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to disrupt the 2020 election certification results, 13 people are accused of federal crimes and 40 face local charges, according to a Department of Justice press release. The department did not respond to a query about whether Gold has been charged.
Gold spoke at rallies leading up to the storming of the Capitol, inciting fear about the vaccine and claiming COVID-19 to be non-lethal. She stated that people must not comply with taking "an experimental, biological agent deceptively named a vaccine."
"I urge you to mark this day, this moment, as the united return of our nation, to the eternal fight for freedom, a commitment to integrity, a resolve to seek the truth in all arenas, and to always act upon it," Gold said in a video posted on Twitter.
In the days leading up to the riot, Gold openly shared her plans to attend Wednesday's events on social media. "I will be speaking at the #StopTheSteal rally in DC on January 6," she stated in an Instagram post written on Dec. 28. "Learn the facts you need to fight for freedom from forced experimental vaccines, government overreach, and unconstitutional lockdowns."
She was accompanied by John Strand, the communications director of America's Frontline Doctors.
Gold also has spoken at events hosted by Turning Point USA, a non-profit organization that supports grassroots conservative movements on high school and college campuses. Turning Point Action, an arm of the non-profit, sent buses of students to the rally preceding the march on the Capitol.
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk wrote on Twitter that his organization was "honored" to help make the event happen, admitting that it sent more than 80 buses "full of patriots" to Washington. The tweet has since been deleted. A spokesperson from Turning Point told MedPage Today that this tweet was inaccurate, as only seven buses of students were sent to the event, and there was no intention of storming the Capitol on their agenda.
In December, Gold attended a summit hosted by the organization and has been a guest on Kirk's podcast.
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