RFK Jr. blamed by HHS staff for misinformation that sparked CDC attack
A group of current and former staff members at the US Department of Health and Human Services are publicly blaming Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for spreading misinformation that led to a deadly shooting at the nation’s leading public health agency earlier this month.
Kennedy’s words and actions “contributed to the harassment and violence” experienced by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff and directly led to the Aug. 8 attack on the agency, according to a letter signed by more than 750 employees and sent to the secretary and members of Congress on Wednesday. He was “complicit in dismantling America’s public health infrastructure and endangering the nation’s health by repeatedly spreading inaccurate health information,” it read.
The letter, coming from a segment of the department’s more than 60,000 employees, asks Kennedy to stop spreading misinformation and acknowledge that the CDC’s work is non-partisan.
In response, an HHS spokesperson said Kennedy is standing firmly with CDC employees to ensure their safety and well-being.
The “mission” of the agency under Kennedy has been embraced by the American people and any attempt to conflate that “with the violence of a suicidal mass shooter is an attempt to politicize a tragedy,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Online Targets
The signatories also want him to remove online content that targets employees on so-called “DEI watchlists,” which target workers involved in diversity, equity and inclusion activities, by Sept. 2. And the employees asked Kennedy to take other steps to improve safety - like putting emergency procedures and functional alerts in place.
“An attack on a U.S. government agency should be a moment in time when we come together. Instead, Secretary Kennedy continues to spread misinformation at the risk of American lives,” said Anne Schuchat, former principal deputy director at the CDC, in a statement.
A shooter fired nearly 200 rounds into four buildings and two security guard stands at the CDC, leaving one police officer dead. Local investigators said the gunman attacked the agency to protest the Covid vaccine. CDC leadership affirmed that the agency was the target because of misinformation in multiple staff meetings and emails following the attack.
Kennedy refused to give the motive of the shooter in an interview with Scripps News in the days following the attack. He offered support for staff during a trip to Atlanta and in public comments, but neither he nor President Donald Trump have spoken directly about the motives to the government employees who were affected.
Some of the letter’s signatories were allowed to be anonymous, after saying they didn’t want to speak publicly for fear of retaliation and their personal safety.