DOJ Says Purposefully Spreading Coronavirus Could Be Charged As Terrorism

Topline: The Justice Department told federal law enforcement officials in a memo that they could consider using terrorism laws in the event that individuals purposefully attempt to spread the COVID-19 coronavirus, according to multiple reports, which said the memo envisioned a multitude of potential crimes that could occur because of the pandemic.

  • The memo was issued by Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen, reported the Washington Post.
  • Rosen wrote that COVID-19 “appears to meet the statutory definition of ‘biological agent,’” and that intentionally spreading the virus “could implicate the Nation’s terrorism-related statutes.” 
  • Rosen also cited other laws around the enforcement of biological agents, including using them as a weapon, in threats by wire or mail or in false information and hoaxes.
  • Additional crimes that could surface during the pandemic could be the sale of fake coronavirus cures or businesses hoarding medical supplies (which President Trump outlawed by executive order). 
  • The only coronavirus-related charges brought so far by the Justice Department are against a website that claimed to be selling vaccines for the disease, which allegedly ran a wire-fraud scheme.
  • The Post reported that Rosen’s memo appears to be theoretical guidance.

Crucial quote: “Threats or attempts to use COVID-19 as a weapon against Americans will not be tolerated,” Rosen wrote in the memo.

Key background: NBC News reported that New Jersey has already invoked its version of terrorism laws to charge a man who purposefully coughed on a grocery store worker and claimed he had coronavirus. Similar incidents have been reported in Illinois, Missouri and Pennsylvania. The FBI has also seen scams involving coronavirus, such as a phishing email that asks recipients to verify their personal information to receive the personal check promised in the Senate economic stimulus package. “Government agencies are not sending unsolicited e-mails seeking your private information in order to send you money,” the FBI told NBC News.

Tangent: Many types of coronavirus-linked scams have been reported⁠—Forbes is tracking coronavirus scams here.



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