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2w ago

Anti-Vaccine Figures Recast CDC Shooter’s Motives as Security Concerns and Political Pressure Grow

Influencers circulating vaccine-injury narratives have spurred union demands for tougher CDC protections alongside congressional calls to oust Robert Malone.

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 9: Bullet holes are seen in windows at the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) Global Headquarters following a shooting that left two dead, on August 9, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. On August 8, a gunman opened fire near the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control, killing a DeKalb County Police Department officer before being found dead by gunfire. On August 8, a gunman opened fire near the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control, killing a DeKalb County Police Department officer before being found dead by gunfire. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Anti-vaccine influencers have excused or reframed Patrick Joseph White’s motives by emphasizing his writings that blamed COVID-19 vaccines for his depression.
  • CDC employee unions are demanding upgraded perimeter security, better emergency alerts and explicit federal denunciations of health misinformation.
  • Sen. Richard Blumenthal and other lawmakers are pressing HHS Secretary RFK Jr. to remove Robert Malone from the ACIP over his controversial social-media posts.
  • HHS has condemned the August 8 attack and launched a security review, but Kennedy’s ambiguous comments on the shooter’s motivations and vaccine skepticism from his appointees have drawn scrutiny.
  • Rapid online spread of false or misattributed claims about the shooting has highlighted the broader threat of violence fueled by health-related misinformation.