Anti-vaxx rally - latest: Outrage at RFK Jr Holocaust comments at vaccine mandate opponents gathering in DC
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Covid-19 vaccine mandate opponents gathered today for a march in Washington, DC in an event organisers called “Defeat the Mandates: An American Homecoming”.
Among those marching are firefighters, teachers, first responders, and other groups, who congregated on the National Mall from 10.30am local time. At 11.30am they began walking from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial.
Speeches included remarks from anti-vaccine activist Robert F Kennedy Jr, controversial doctor Robert Malone, and TV producer Del Bigtree, CEO of the anti-vaccination group Informed Consent Action Network.
Mr Kennedy’s comparison of vaccines to the Holocaust caused outrage online with the Auschwitz Memorial labelling such exploitative language as “a sad symptom of moral and intellectual decay”. Mr Bigtree’s rhetoric promising a Nuremberg trial for medical professionals and the press received a similar backlash from a survivor of The Capitol Gazette attack.
The event was billed as a gathering of those who oppose vaccine mandates, vaccines for children, and other pandemic requirements and restrictions, but most of the speakers are prominently against the vaccine itself.
A permit filed with the National Park Service states that the march could attract as many as 20,000 people, but numbers were much lower than anticipated.
Follow for the latest updates...
Tucker Carlson clashes with Howard Stern over Covid-19
Fox News host Tucker Carlson has called radio personality Howard Stern a “coward” for sharing his concerns about Covid-19.
The controversial opinion host spent part of Thursday’sTucker Carlson Tonight bashing Stern for “amplifying his fears” about the pandemic and “attacking anybody else who has decided to live life as a free person”.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Tucker Carlson declares war on Howard Stern over Covid-19 concerns
‘Maybe it was coronavirus that broke him, maybe it was hormonal changes from middle age, he is now a coward,’ Fox host declares
Security was ramped up ahead of today’s march
Gustaf Kilander reports on the preparations ahead of today’s peaceful march.
Security beefed up in Washington DC ahead of major anti-vaxx rally
‘United States is in a period of heightened threat,’ DHS says
Aaron Rodgers responds to Biden taunt
NFL star Aaron Rodgers has hit out at Joe Biden after the US president said he wanted the Green Bay Packers to get vaccinated.
Mr Biden made the remark to a Packers fan as he toured an area of Kentucky devastated by tornadoes and told the fan, “Tell that quarterback he’s gotta get the vaccine.”
Rodgers, a friend of podcast host Joe Rogan, caught Covid in November after falsely implying that he had been vaccinated and claimed the NFL had a “two-class system” for vaccinated and unvaccinated players.
Graeme Massie reports.
NFL star Aaron Rodgers hits out at Joe Biden over Covid-19 vaccine taunt
Green Bay Packers player got virus after falsely implying he was vaccinated
Auschwitz Memorial hits back at RFK Jr
The Auschwitz Memorial has called Robert F Kennedy Jr’s remarks comparing vaccines to the Holocaust “a sad symptom of moral and intellectual decay”.
Speaking at an anti-vaxx rally in Washington DC on Sunday, the nephew of former president John F Kennedy claimed that in the future “none of us can run and none of us can hide”.
“Bill Gates said his 65,000 satellites alone will be able to look at every square inch of the planet 24 hours a day. They’re putting in 5G to harvest our data and control our behaviour.”
He went on to compare vaccine passports to the Nazi regime.
Bevan Hurley reports.
Auschwitz Memorial hits back at RFK Jr’s anti-vax rant
Robert F Kennedy criticised for ‘exploiting of the tragedy’ of the Holocaust
What next for the anti-vaccine/mandate movement?
Ben Collins of NBC News writes: “Most people are wildly underestimating how both large and rhetorically violent this anti-vaccine movement is.
“They are a gigantic, one-issue political movement that will eventually coalesce behind one candidate and make extreme demands before 2024.”
He adds: “Buckle up.”
Time’s Vera Bergengruen writes: “A lot of people dismissing the groups here today as a bunch of online conspiracy theorists are going to get a rude awakening. The larger anti-vaccine (/“anti mandates”) wing is a growing political movement bringing together many of the anti-government threads of the past decade.”
That’s all for our rolling coverage of the anti-vaxx rally in Washington. Thank you for following along.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies