A Beverly Hills doctor who publicly criticized the coronavirus vaccine and defended hydroxychloroquine as a treatment against the deadly virus was arrested in connection with the Capitol disturbances.
Dr. Simone Gold, 55, was among the three Los Angeles residents who were arrested on Monday in connection with the insurrection. Gina Bisignano, the 52-year-old owner of Gina’s Eyelashes and Skincare, and John Strand, 37, also face charges.
Gold attracted national attention in July, when he organized a press conference on the steps of the US Supreme Court to condemn pandemic blockades and rave about how “hydroxychloroquine works” as a treatment for COVID-19.
The doctor made a similar speech during the January 6 uprising, confirming the The Washington Post she was photographed holding a megaphone on the floor of the Rotunda. (In June, the FDA revoked its emergency hydroxychloroquine authorization, stating that the drug could actually do more harm than good because of its “ongoing serious cardiac adverse events and other potentially serious side effects.”)
According to a criminal complaint filed against Gold and Strand, federal authorities were warned of the pair’s presence for The Washington Post article.
In a 30-second video, Gold can be seen speaking at the Rotunda while two policemen are behind her, gesturing for her and others to leave. Although most of his speech is inaudible on the video, Gold can be heard saying “I am a mother” and “a great medical establishment”.
“I can certainly speak to the place I’ve been, and it emphatically wasn’t an uproar,” Gold said. Post, adding that she made the same speech during a January 5 demonstration by Trump supporters. “Where I was, it was incredibly peaceful.”
Gold said she “regrets being there,” as her presence in the riots will distract her from her work for America’s Frontline Doctors, a group that promoted misinformation about COVID-19 and the vaccine. Five people died and dozens were injured during the unrest, when thousands of MAGA supporters invaded the Capitol and forced elected leaders to hide for hours.
Gold also admitted that he went to the January 6 event with Strand, the communications director for America’s Frontline Doctors. Strand and Gold were depicted in a photo released by the FBI. The doctor told the Post she was fired from her job as an emergency doctor at two hospitals in July after her speech – and has not worked as a doctor since.
The complaint states that federal officials received many tips that the pair participated in the unrest, including several photos of them inside the Capitol building.
A witness told authorities, “an old acquaintance was posting pictures of himself taking over the capital yesterday. He was asking for a revolution in his social media accounts …[i]ndividual broke into the main building and is paid to promote advertising on its website. “
In a photo posted on a Twitter account associated with Strand, he is depicted in front of the Capitol steps during the rebellion. “I am incredibly proud to be a patriot today, to stand up for freedom and the Constitution, to support Trump & #MAGAforever and to send the message: WE ARE NEVER GRANTING A STOLEN ELECTION,” says a caption, according to the complaint criminal.
Gold and Strand are also in a Getty video with a large crowd “trying to push several policemen blocking the entrance to the Capitol, which had windows visibly broken at the time,” says the complaint, adding: “One of the policemen, who had been arrested near the Capitol doors, seems to be pulled down by someone in the crowd and lands near ”the pair.
In a criminal complaint, prosecutors say they received six tips identifying Bisignano as a participant in the riots – an easy jump, considering that the salon’s owner declared her full name, place of residence and Instagram name in a video filmed in front of the Capitol. The feds added that during the insurrection, Bisignano was spotted wearing the same Louis Vuitton sweater.
According to the complaint, Bisignano said the name of his company when speaking through a megaphone to the crowd.
“Guys, we need gas masks. We need weapons, ”she shouted. “We need strong and angry patriots to help our boys, they don’t want to leave. We need protection. ”As she speaks, the protesters can be seen from about 3 meters away attacking police officers who are trying to protect the Capitol – including a person filmed hitting an officer with a baseball bat.
Another video shows the salon owner “in a crowd of hooligans fighting with police in a haven in an attempt to get into the Capitol.”
“We, the people, cannot take it anymore. You are not going to take our Trumpy Teddy Bear, you are not going to take our vows and our freedom that I thank God. It is 1776 and we, the people, will never give up. We will never let our country go to the globalists. George Soros, you can go to hell ”, shouts Bisignano in a megaphone in another video, says the complaint. Again, while the salon owner is speaking, rioters are seen assaulting police officers, stabbing them with a fire extinguisher and hitting them with batons.
In an interview with Beverly Hills Courier, Bisignano admitted that he went to the Capitol with someone else, “stating that he felt called by President Donald Trump to travel to DC to change the election result, which he believes was stolen,” the complaint said.
Claiming to have been “caught” at the time during the riots, Bisignano said he witnessed a struggle during the siege – but insisted, without offering a piece of evidence, that the violence was “antifa and BLM”.