A Texas man who allegedly threatened to shoot former Baltimore Health Commissioner Doctor Leana Wen for advocating for Covid-19 vaccines has been charged in federal court.
A 51-year-old Scott Eli Harris has sent racist messages to Dr. Wen, terrorising her for choosing to showcase her support for the coronavirus vaccine publicly.
Dr. Wen regularly appears on CNN as a medical analyst and has been vocal about her supportive views on the use of vaccines to help prevent severe cases of Covid-19.
Harris allegedly used various ethnic slurs, xenophobic tones, and other offensive languages against Dr. Wen in those messages.
Dr. Wen was born in China but moved to the United States when she was 8-years-old, and Harris used extreme xenophobic terms when attacking her via text messages.
In a string of messages, Harris sent some of the following texts:
Never going to take your wonder drug. My 12-gauge promises I won’t”
I’m a 5th generation U.S. Army veteran and a sniper. I can’t wait for the shooting to start”
The 51-year-old Harris was arrested in Texas and is said to have his first court appearance in the coming weeks in Texas.
The indictment was handed up at the end of September, and this week, it was unsealed after Harris was arrested in Texas.
Harris could face a maximum penalty of 5-years in federal prison if convicted in Texas.
However, prosecutors highlighted that these sentences are typically factored in the defendant’s previous history, and in most cases, the sentence is lower if no past conviction or behaviour is found.
Should we start charging anti-vaxxers who take extreme measures to bully medical experts who advocate for the Covid vaccine? What do you think? Let me know in the comments. And if you think more people should read this article, share it on social media.
Comments / 0