Doug Kuzma: Anti-vax podcaster on ventilator after attending QAnon-friendly Texas event
Podcaster Doug Kuzma is reportedly in the hospital due to COVID-19 after attending a QAnon-friendly conference in Texas -- 'ReAwaken America' -- earlier this month. Kuzma is a supporter of Donald Trump and is known for his anti-vaccine stance.
Attorney Lin Wood announced on Friday, December 24, that he received a call for help from Kuzma's administrator. The administrator informed him that the Frog News Network host was suffering from Covid and his lungs were not responding to treatment. Kuzma was reportedly placed on a ventilator early in the morning of December 25. He was unconscious and was not able to answer calls or messages. Frog News Network's last contact with Kuzma was on December 19.
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The unfounded anthrax claim
A number of QAnon and far-right influencers have blamed their sickness on an "anthrax attack" following the conservative ReAwaken America tour held from December 9 to 11 in Texas. The tour featured various QAnon conspiracy theorists, big-name conservatives, and far-right figures. Part of a tour across various states, the Dallas event was attended by guest speakers such as former president Donald Trump adviser Michael Flynn, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, and far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
The Reawaken America Tour was founded by Clay Clark and Dr Robert Zoellner. Clark is the organizer, emcee, and host of the General Flynn ReAwaken America Tour, the former “U.S. SBA Entrepreneur of the Year” for the State of Oklahoma, the founder of several multi-million dollar companies, and the host of the Thrivetime Show podcast. Zoellner is a successful optometrist turned entrepreneur.
Unlike what is being claimed, there is no evidence to suggest that anthrax was present at the conference in Dallas. Anthrax is a bacterial infection that has been used as a method of biological warfare and its symptoms include cough and shortness of breath. The symptoms are similar to those of Covid-19, says the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Clay Clark claimed that the unfounded anthrax claim originated from former university professor turned 2020 election cyber “expert” David Clements. Clements, however, later denied his involvement in originating the theory. Finally putting the rumors to bed, Clark had told The Daily Beast, "There was not anthrax through the fog machines.” He had said that if Anthrax was indeed there, “one, I think we would all be dead, you know." He further noted that the church that hosted the event uses “fog for a lot of different special effects" that Clark has no control over.