Rep Loychik & Candidate Schulz Make Authoritarian Calls to Imprison Top Scientist

State Rep Mike Loychik (District 63) and Congressional candidate Jonah Schulz (District 16) are calling for the wanton imprisonment of one of the nation’s leading health experts. They revealed their authoritarian intention to trample the civil rights of a duly appointed public servant, an attack on both free speech and scientific consultation in government.

Jonah Schulz said Dr. Anthony Fauci “needs to be thrown in prison”. Mike Loychik piled on saying “Arrest him NOW!” and “Fauci should be in jail”. They accuse him of “lies,” all because they don’t agree with his conclusions.

Dr. Fauci had a tough job and worked tirelessly to save lives during the pandemic. Not everyone agrees with his advice, but in America we don’t imprison people over a disagreement. If Schulz and Loychik truly cared about the Constitution, they wouldn’t demand locking up their political adversaries.

Mask recommendations

Candidate Jonah Schulz holds up an email from Fauci like it’s a smoking gun, but the email shows no crime nor dishonesty, and doesn’t even reveal anything new. It’s from back in February 2020, before any known US COVID deaths. At that time, Fauci did not recommend masks, which we already know because he said the same thing on national TV.

It’s public knowledge that Fauci changed his mind about recommending masks. He explained his thought process to the press by the end of March 2020, saying, “The idea of getting a much more broad, community-wide use of masks outside of the health care setting is under very active discussion” and that “if, in fact, a person who may or may not be infected wants to prevent infecting someone else, one of the best ways to do that is with a mask. So perhaps that’s the way to go.”

Both before and after changing his recommendation, Fauci was consistent in saying that masks are effective at preventing infection if worn by people who are infected. Although he explained in his email that the virus particles are smaller than the space in the material, he also said that masks can block larger drops of spit which carry the virus. In a May 2020 study of hamsters, surgical mask material was shown to drop the COVID-19 infection rate by up to 75%.

Fauci was not alone in recommending masks. Over 100 countries implemented mask requirements. 48 states, plus numerous counties and cities, independently issued mask mandates with the consultation of their own health departments and scientific advisors. The CDC, which issued the masking guidance in the US, was run by Robert Redfield, and is a separate department from Fauci’s NIAID. On 7/14/20, Redfield said, “Cloth face coverings are one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus – particularly when used universally within a community setting.” In March 2021, the CDC found that mask mandates correlated with reduced spread of COVID.

Fauci was very honest about masks, and his recommendations were likely effective too.

Quarantine measures during the pandemic

In April 2020, Fauci supported nationwide stay-at-home orders, but he didn’t implement restrictions because he doesn’t have authority to do so. Most pandemic restrictions were implemented by State and local governments, not the NIAID. The federal government restricted travel to and from high risk countries and required masks in federal buildings and airports, but even that fell to the CDC and the discretion of the president, not Fauci’s NIAID.

Rich Lowry, editor of the conservative National Review, explains that it’s Fauci’s job to be overly precautious about infectious disease, and that it’s the job of mayors, governors, and the president to weigh that advice against other concerns when deciding which restrictions to implement. President Trump was right to avoid a one-size-fits-all restriction on the whole country, and instead allow state and local governments to implement restrictions based on the local rate of infection and hospitalizations.

Rep. Jim Jordan (District 4) is flat wrong when he said, “Dr. Fauci took away your First Amendment rights during the pandemic,” because Fauci is an advisor, not a president or a governor. We can debate the constitutionality of restricting large indoor church gatherings during a pandemic or what mortality rate is necessary to justify such restrictions, but Fauci didn’t implement those restrictions, and we should not be locking him up for doing his job.

Origin of the Virus

Fauci has consistently said he believes the available evidence shows that COVID-19 was natural and not man-made in a lab. The 1st Amendment protects Fauci’s right to say what he believes to be true, even if his critics don’t agree with him or would have wanted him to talk about the alternative theories instead. He’s probably right that COVID-19 was natural just like other coronaviruses have been, but even if it turns out he was wrong that wouldn’t make his speech criminal. Fauci has said he is open to investigations to gather more evidence of its exact origin, which as of now is still unknown.

Rep. Troy Balderson (District 16) has laudably called for a transparent investigation into what caused the pandemic, and for holding China accountable for their lack of transparency. That’s where our focus should be: getting to the truth, not villainizing our own official who tried his best to save American lives.

The Lab-Leak Theory: Inside the Fight to Uncover COVID-19’s Origins

Coronavirus research in China

By 2019, scientists had identified over 200 natural coronaviruses just in bats. At least 6 coronaviruses were known to infect humans before COVID-19, including the 2002 SARS and 2012 MERS coronaviruses which together have killed at least 1,500 people. These are the stated reasons why in 2014 the NIAID, under the direction of Dr. Fauci, funded a project with EcoHealth to study the risk of bat coronaviruses in China. This is all publicly available information.

On 5/11/21, Dr. Fauci acknowledged the collaboration with China, but told Congress it was not “gain of function”. He said, “The NIH and NIAID categorically has not funded gain of function research to be conducted in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.” The US defines “gain-of-function” as “research that improves the ability of a pathogen to cause disease” which is “reasonably anticipated” to make viruses have “enhanced pathogenicity and/or transmissibility”. The EcoHealth project description calls for testing pseudoviruses, which are viruses weakened by removing genes so they can’t replicate. As Fox News commentator Steve Hilton points out, the project also calls for reverse genetics, but a 2010 scientific article explains that “most reverse genetics techniques provide only loss-of-function,” meaning the technique doesn’t necessarily produce a stronger virus. Dr. Stanley Perlman from University of Iowa said the study seemed designed to weaken the viruses. If the study was reasonably anticipated to decrease the ability to cause disease, then it would not be considered gain-of-function according to the US government. Therefore it is plausible that Fauci is telling the truth.

The scientific method is the best way for humans to learn how the world works; discovering how viruses make us sick and creating medicine to keep us healthy. The scientific community as a whole deserves a great deal of respect and support. However, that doesn’t mean we should automatically accept everything an individual scientist says. Professor Richard Ebright of Rutgers disagreed with Fauci, saying the EcoHealth grant was gain-of-function, although the phrase “reasonably anticipated” in the US definition is subjective enough to allow for such difference of opinion. In 2015, NIAID’s Dr. Kanta Subbarao said, “the term gain-of-function is … a vague and unsatisfactory term,” which means discussion of gain-of-function is bound to contain some ambiguity. For all these reasons, I don’t fault Senator Paul for asking Dr. Fauci tough questions to get to the truth.

Respecting science in general also doesn’t mean supporting every possible scientific pursuit. It’s reasonable to demand that gain-of-function research (or even gain-and-loss-of-function) be well regulated by the federal government due to the risk of creating an outbreak rather than preventing one. Even if Dr. Fauci is telling the truth about what the EcoHealth grant was intended to do, it appears that US funding indirectly and perhaps unintentionally supported gain-of-function research in China, which may or may not meet US biosafety standards. Since we can’t control how other countries do their research, it seems prudent to restrict or prohibit funding of foreign research related to gain-of-function, especially to a country like China which is known to restrict free speech and has obstructed investigation into the origin of COVID-19. Such research regulations and restrictions should come from elected legislators and executives, rather than expecting an appointed immunologist to self-restrict or blaming him for collaborating with scientists internationally.

If you’re still concerned about the truth of the research grant, you might call for EcoHealth documents and emails to be subpoenaed, not for Fauci’s immediate arrest. If further investigation digs up criminal dishonesty, then just like in science, we’ll follow the evidence wherever it leads, but insisting that criminal deceit is the only possible explanation is literally conspiracy theory.

Hypocrisy of Loychik and Schulz

If Loychik and Schulz were consistent in their crusade against lies, they would also be criticizing Donald Trump for his dishonesty about COVID. Trump admitted to downplaying (lying about) the virus, constantly saying it would just go away any day now, even as we headed into the deadliest winter months. He dismissed criticism of his pandemic response as a “hoax“, wording that further dismisses the severity of the pandemic. His administration also overstated confidence in the lab leak theory, and just recently on 6/12/21 Trump asserted that “The Virus came from a Chinese lab”, even though the origin of COVID is still unknown and a natural jump from animals to humans is still a viable theory. And then there’s the “big lie”, where Trump said the election was rigged before it even happened, and lied about winning before the votes were even counted.

Instead of holding Trump responsible for his lies, Loychik wants to “honor” Trump by renaming an Ohio park after him. Meanwhile, Schulz launched his campaign mainly to oppose Trump’s second impeachment, essentially defending Trump’s lies which provoked an attack on the Capitol. Now their support for Trump seems to include mimicking his authoritarian calls to throw political adversaries in prison. Trump has encouraged locking up Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and now Loychik and Schulz want to add Fauci to that list.

Both Loychik and Schulz talk a lot about defending the Constitution, but their eagerness to lock up Fauci shows otherwise. In America, citizens are innocent until proven guilty in court. Schulz alleges that Trump was not given due process during impeachment (even though impeachment is not a criminal trial), yet Schulz doesn’t seem interested in due process for Fauci, instead jumping right to the maximum criminal punishment. Beyond just accusing him of lying to Congress, both men have shown prejudice against Fauci. Loychik has called him “evil”, a “despicable swamp creature” and a “pathological liar”, while Schulz has called him a “disgusting human being” and a “compulsive liar.” A real Constitutional defender might call for a impartial investigation, whereas demanding immediate arrest and imprisonment is a sign of unconstitutional and un-American authoritarianism.

Ultimately, both Trump and Fauci’s comments about COVID are largely protected by the 1st Amendment and do not deserve persecution. The law against lying to the federal government requires that the statements be proven (a) false and (b) with intent to deceive, in a court of law and not in the court of public opinion. This isn’t about left vs right, but about the Constitution vs lawmakers’ intention to suppress free speech.

Science under attack and in need of defense

COVID-19 is a serious disease which, as of October 2021, has killed more people than the formerly deadliest pandemic in US history in 1918. Pandemics disrupt our lives one way or the other, so it’s not surprising that people are unhappy and looking for someone to blame. I am immensely grateful for the diligent service that Fauci has done for our country during this pandemic, but obviously not everyone approves of his work. Citizens and legislators are free to express their opinion, but there’s a major difference between saying you don’t support an appointed official and demanding that they be thrown in prison.

In 1633, the Catholic Church imprisoned Galileo Galilei for saying the Earth orbits the Sun, because he supported prohibited ideas. In the meme at the top, Loychik and Schulz play the role of the Vatican charging Fauci with heresy for saying masks work. The 1st Amendment separates America from authoritarian countries that suppress free speech, and we must defend that right vigorously, including the right of scientists to reach conclusions that may not be popular.

When this pandemic settles, we will again face other global challenges such as fossil fuel combustion and food production causing global warning, and we must allow scientists to report these inconvenient findings to the government without fear of being locked up for it. What other scientists would Loychik and Schulz be eager to lock up because they don’t like their conclusions?

Jim Jordan cherry picks info for his conspiracy theory

On 7/14, Rep. Jim Jordan published his conspiracy theory about Dr. Fauci with concludes with his “belief” that “unelected scientists decided to hide the truth from the American people.” The problem is that Jordan is cherry-picking his information to invent a conspiracy.

He relies heavily on Dr. Kristian Anderson’s early hypothesis that “some of the features (potentially) look engineered” but ignores the other sentence in that email saying, “we have to look at this much more closely and there are still further analyses to be done, so those opinions could still change.” Jordan contemptuously disregards Anderson’s subsequent finding that the hypothesis turned out to be “demonstrably false.” Anderson has since said, “The features in SARS-CoV-2 that initially suggested possible engineering were identified in related coronaviruses, meaning that features that initially looked unusual to us weren’t,” allowing them to “reject our preliminary hypothesis.” It is unreasonable for Jordan to consider Anderson to be simultaneously a source of truth and also a source of lies.

Jordan calls it a “fact” that “Dr. Fauci knew that the virus ‘looked…engineered'”, but that’s misleading because it was merely a “potential” explanation, a hypothesis requiring further analysis, which Anderson himself called an “opinion” that was soon after disproven. Dr. Fauci does not have a legal or moral obligation to inform the public nor the president about an untested or disproven hypothesis.

Scientists must be allowed to collaboratively consider a possible explanation and subsequently disprove that explanation, and we must stand up to conspiracy theorists who insinuate that it means something nefarious happened. After Jordan spins his tale of conspiracy, he ends by saying, “Maybe I’m wrong.” He probably is wrong, because Anderson’s explanation is completely plausible, so Jordan’s conjecture about Fauci falls apart.

Scientist Opens Up About His Early Email to Fauci on Virus Origins

Fauci pushes back on Rand Paul

On 7/20, Fauci defended himself against accusations by Senator Rand Paul, saying “I have never lied before the Congress. … This paper that you are referring to was judged by qualified staff up and down the chain as not being gain-of-function. … Senator Paul, you do not know what you are talking about. … I totally resent the lie that you are now propagating Senator. … If anybody is lying here, Senator, it is you.”

Republican Senate candidates weigh in

Many of Ohio’s Republican US Senate candidates have tweeted criticism of Dr. Fauci. JD Vance has joined in on calling for Fauci to be prosecuted and imprisoned.

Bernie Moreno and Michael Leipold have called for prosecution, but stop short of dictating the verdict or punishment.

Josh Mandel imagines Fauci being “tarred and feathered” or wearing prison clothes, and longs for criminal codes to prosecute Fauci, but only explicitly calls for him to be fired.

Mike Gibbons and Jane Timken have only called for Fauci to be fired. In a 3/28/22 debate, Gibbons said Fauci may need to be prosecuted.

Also targeting Hillary Clinton

On 2/12/22, Loychik, Schulz and Josh Mandel revived calls to put another political adversary in prison: Hillary Clinton.

This was in reaction to a court filing by DOJ special council John Durham. It includes details that tech executive Rodney Joffe collected URL domain name lookups from Trump properties, which allegedly showed Trump connections to the Russian Alfa Bank and a Russian mobile phone provider. Domain data was also collected from the White House.

Joffe has not been charged with any crime, even though his involvement has been known publicly since at least mid-September 2021. According to New York Times reporting, the White House data was from Obama’s term and not Trump’s, the DNS data that was collected was nonprivate, and Joffe had authority to analyze this data. This suggests that this whole thing might not be as scandalous as partisans would have us believe.

After years of investigation, Durham has so far only charged three people for false statements, but no other crime. There are connections from Joffe to Michael Sussmann, and Sussmann to Hillary Clinton’s election campaign, but Durham has not yet presented evidence that Hillary was personally involved or participated in anything illegal. Also consider the possibility that Joffe’s handling of the data was his own decision, without the approval or knowledge of Hillary Clinton.

Loychik, Schulz and Mandel prefer to jump to conclusions, to ensure Clinton’s downfall and gain cheap political points, rather than defer to investigators’ findings and impartial justice. Mandel has also spread unsubstantiated rumors about Democrats Ilhan Omar and Eric Swalwell, calling for them both to be kicked out of Congress.

Jim Jordan also chimed in, agreeing with Donald Trump’s suggestion that a death sentence would be warranted. Trump had said, “In a stronger period of time in our country, this crime would have been punishable by death.” Senator Rob Portman gave a more measured call for a “full investigation”, even though Durham has already investigated this for years.

On 5/31/22, Sussman was found not guilty.

Elsewhere, Loychik’s eagerness to arrest political adversaries is further exemplified here, regarding lawmakers in Texas who boycotted a voting restrictions bill:

May cooler heads prevail

No one is above the law. We must follow evidence and hold accountable anyone who committed a crime. But we must not demand arrests or prison time without even knowing which specific crime was committed, if any. That is not law and order; it’s authoritarianism.

Court Filing Started a Furor in Right-Wing Outlets, but Their Narrative Is Off Track
What you need to know about the John Durham filing that Trumpworld is fuming over

Schulz loses primary election

On 5/3/22, Jonah Schulz lost the District 7 Republican primary election to rival Max Miller.

Fauci resigns

After Dr. Fauci announced his upcoming resignation, Loychik again called for him to be removed immediately.

State Senator Gavarone also weighed in, suggesting he be subpoenaed and investigated for his handling of the pandemic response.