Pastor Says Fauci Should Be Waterboarded Until He Admits to Working With China to Create COVID
By Jason Lemon On 4/12/21 at 1:07 PM EDT
Conservative pastor Rick Wiles took aim at Dr. Anthony Fauci in a recent episode of his TruNews program, saying that the prominent public health official should be tortured.
Wiles, the pastor of the Flowing Streams Church in Vero Beach, Florida, regularly makes controversial and inflammatory statements. In March 2020, he made highly anti-Semitic remarks, claiming that God was "spreading" COVID-19 in synagogues as punishment for Jews opposing "his son, the Lord Jesus Christ."
During a program on TruNews last week, Wiles claimed that Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, had worked directly with China to create the coronavirus pandemic.
"You're a liar!" Wiles said, directing his remarks at Fauci in the episode last Thursday. "You know what you did, Fauci. You worked with the Chinese Communist Party for years. And you used our own taxpayer money to work on a coronavirus with bats. And you did it behind our backs, deceiving the American people, and you participated in the creation of this virus."
Wiles said that Fauci "should be taken to Guantánamo Bay and waterboarded" until he coughs up "the truth." Fauci must also give the names of "the other traitors who have helped China damage the United States of America with this virus," the pastor said. Right Wing Watch first reported Wiles' remarks.
In this screenshot, Pastor Rick Wiles attacks Dr. Anthony Fauci as a "traitor" in a recent episode of his program on TruNews. TruNews/screenshot
"We've been sold out by traitors inside America," the pastor claimed at another point in the program.
Waterboarding is a form of torture that was routinely employed by the CIAagainst suspected extremists in the wake of the September 11 attacks. When someone is waterboarded, a thick cloth is placed over the mouth and nose as someone pours water onto it, which creates the effect of drowning. While the Justice Department approved of the practice at the time, President Barack Obama banned waterboarding by executive order in 2009.
Fauci has routinely been attacked by conservatives and right-wing pundits for his blunt and straightforward assessments of the pandemic. While former President Donald Trump was still in the White House, Fauci often had to publicly counter misinformation and bizarre claims about the coronavirus promoted by the then commander in chief. This angered Trump as well as his Republican supporters.
But polls consistently showed Fauci was trusted and well respected by the public throughout the pandemic. February polling by Morning Consult and Politico found that 60 percent of Americans rated Fauci as having done an "excellent" or "good" job in responding to the coronavirus crisis. Meanwhile, just 17 percent said he has done a "poor" job, while 14 percent rated his handling of the crisis as "just fair."
In late November, Wiles recommended that the Trump administration "shoot" Democrats and journalists if it was found that they had helped rig the election, as the former president has baselessly claimed. "They're gonna have a bunch of traitors. They're gonna line 'em up against the wall and start shooting them. Because that's what they deserve," the pastor said at the time.
"The Democrats, the news media—if the leftists, if scientists, professors have been working secretly with the Chinese Communist Party," Wiles continued, "then line 'em up against the wall and shoot them. That's what you do with them."
Wiles' claim that the 2020 election was rigged with the help of China has been thoroughly debunked and is not supported by any evidence.
Newsweek reached out to Wiles for further comment but did not hear back before publication.
By Jason Lemon On 4/12/21 at 1:07 PM EDT
Conservative pastor Rick Wiles took aim at Dr. Anthony Fauci in a recent episode of his TruNews program, saying that the prominent public health official should be tortured.
Wiles, the pastor of the Flowing Streams Church in Vero Beach, Florida, regularly makes controversial and inflammatory statements. In March 2020, he made highly anti-Semitic remarks, claiming that God was "spreading" COVID-19 in synagogues as punishment for Jews opposing "his son, the Lord Jesus Christ."
During a program on TruNews last week, Wiles claimed that Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, had worked directly with China to create the coronavirus pandemic.
"You're a liar!" Wiles said, directing his remarks at Fauci in the episode last Thursday. "You know what you did, Fauci. You worked with the Chinese Communist Party for years. And you used our own taxpayer money to work on a coronavirus with bats. And you did it behind our backs, deceiving the American people, and you participated in the creation of this virus."
Wiles said that Fauci "should be taken to Guantánamo Bay and waterboarded" until he coughs up "the truth." Fauci must also give the names of "the other traitors who have helped China damage the United States of America with this virus," the pastor said. Right Wing Watch first reported Wiles' remarks.
In this screenshot, Pastor Rick Wiles attacks Dr. Anthony Fauci as a "traitor" in a recent episode of his program on TruNews. TruNews/screenshot
"We've been sold out by traitors inside America," the pastor claimed at another point in the program.
Waterboarding is a form of torture that was routinely employed by the CIAagainst suspected extremists in the wake of the September 11 attacks. When someone is waterboarded, a thick cloth is placed over the mouth and nose as someone pours water onto it, which creates the effect of drowning. While the Justice Department approved of the practice at the time, President Barack Obama banned waterboarding by executive order in 2009.
Fauci has routinely been attacked by conservatives and right-wing pundits for his blunt and straightforward assessments of the pandemic. While former President Donald Trump was still in the White House, Fauci often had to publicly counter misinformation and bizarre claims about the coronavirus promoted by the then commander in chief. This angered Trump as well as his Republican supporters.
But polls consistently showed Fauci was trusted and well respected by the public throughout the pandemic. February polling by Morning Consult and Politico found that 60 percent of Americans rated Fauci as having done an "excellent" or "good" job in responding to the coronavirus crisis. Meanwhile, just 17 percent said he has done a "poor" job, while 14 percent rated his handling of the crisis as "just fair."
In late November, Wiles recommended that the Trump administration "shoot" Democrats and journalists if it was found that they had helped rig the election, as the former president has baselessly claimed. "They're gonna have a bunch of traitors. They're gonna line 'em up against the wall and start shooting them. Because that's what they deserve," the pastor said at the time.
"The Democrats, the news media—if the leftists, if scientists, professors have been working secretly with the Chinese Communist Party," Wiles continued, "then line 'em up against the wall and shoot them. That's what you do with them."
Wiles' claim that the 2020 election was rigged with the help of China has been thoroughly debunked and is not supported by any evidence.
Newsweek reached out to Wiles for further comment but did not hear back before publication.
