Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Man, 56, Arrested And Charged With Threatening To Kill Fauci, His Family
The Baltimore Sun: Man Charged In Maryland Federal Court With Threatening To Kill Dr. Anthony Fauci And His Family
A 56-year-old man has been arrested and charged in Maryland federal court with making threats against Dr. Anthony Fauci, a case unsealed as a Frederick man was sentenced to seven months in prison for threatening Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and their supporters. Federal authorities said Thomas Patrick Connally Jr., who was arrested in West Virginia, repeatedly sent threatening emails to Fauci at his National Institutes of Health account, which is based in Bethesda. (Fenton, 7/27)
AP: Man Charged With Sending Threatening Emails To Dr. Fauci
The complaint was unsealed Tuesday after Connally’s arrest. He was arrested in West Virginia, U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Marcia Murphy said. It’s unclear where he lives. Connally is scheduled for an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt on Wednesday. ... If convicted, Connally faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for threats against a federal official, and a maximum of five years in federal prison for interstate communication containing a threat to harm. (7/27)
Newsweek: Maryland Man Charged With Threatening To Set Anthony Fauci And His Family On Fire
Legal authorities say that between December 2020 and July 2021, Connally of Greenbelt, Maryland, sent seven death threats to Dr. Fauci. Connally reportedly sent the threats using an encrypted email account. In one email, Connally allegedly said Fauci and his family should be "dragged into the street, beaten to death, and set on fire," WJZ-TV reported. (Villarreal, 7/27)
In other news from the Biden administration —
Stat: Under Lander, OSTP Will Have An Entire Wing Dedicated To Health
Eric Lander, the renowned genomics researcher, has kept a low profile in his first months as President Biden’s science adviser. He’s given no speeches, issued no reports, and published virtually no public-facing work of any kind. Quietly, though, Lander has been busy reinventing the White House’s science office. He’s building a new wing, exclusively focused on health and life sciences — a dramatic change for OSTP, which even under President Obama counted just two staffers with the word “health” in their titles. Neither worked in life sciences. (Facher, 7/28)
