Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) presented Dr. Simone Gold with a flag that once flew above the U.S. Capitol on Friday, following his 45 days in jail for involvement in the Jan. 6 capitol breach and trespassing in confined spaces.
“Dr. Simone Gold is an American patriot and hero,” Gohmert said in a Sept. 9 statement.
The in-person grant upon Gold’s release from the Miami Federal Detention Center was intended to honor the Los Angeles-based emergency medicine specialist’s “invaluable work and contributions to public health, medical freedom, and our God-given constitutional rights,” according to the Republican legislator.
Gold, the founder of the nonprofit organization America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLDS), was sentenced on June 16 under a plea agreement on one count of entering and staying in a building or restricted ground, a federal misdemeanor. The sentence, imposed by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper on June 16, included 60 days in jail, one year of supervised release, a $9,500 fine and $500 restitution.
.@drsimonegold is an American patriot and hero. https://t.co/APiotH7ve5
— Louie Gohmert (@replouiegohmert) September 9, 2022
During the afternoon of January 6, 2021, Gold delivered a speech via megaphone to a crowd gathered in Statuary Hall, where she voiced her opposition to government-imposed vaccination mandates and lockdowns, before speaking. be discontinued on January 18, 2021. Her nonprofit AFLDS had promoted drugs such as hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin as alternatives to the COVID-19 vaccine, which came under attack from the media and Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she exposed the world to early treatment options that undoubtedly saved many lives. Tragically, his sound medical advice was viciously attacked and suppressed by corrupt media captured by pharmaceutical companies with a clear financial agenda,” Gohmert said in Friday’s statement.
“After seeing his name and reputation shamefully dragged through the mud, the Biden administration’s DOJ [Department of Justice] threw her in jail for peacefully entering the U.S. Capitol on January 6 and giving a speech,” Gohmert continued. “Dr. Gold is the definition of what a political prisoner looks like – something I never thought I would see here in the United States of America.
Gold responded by saying she was “honoured” to receive the gift and recognition, while calling Gohmert “a true supporter of freedom and a fierce defender of our constitutional rights.”
Gold’s release date came about two weeks before the 60-day expiration, taking into account teaching and taking classes while incarcerated, as well as time served when he was arrested in January 2021, according to the AFLDS.
More than 800 people have been charged with federal crimes for the Jan. 6 violation, 300 of whom have pleaded guilty to one or more charges so far and nearly 200 have been convicted.
