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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Could a known carrier be charged with a crime for intentionally spreading the coronavirus?

By Lisa Freedland
YES

In March 2020, the Justice Department noted that as the coronavirus met the definition of a “biological agent,” a carrier who intentionally spread the virus could be prosecuted for terrorism-related crimes. Its memo noted reports of various coronavirus-related “schemes,” including threats to intentionally infect people.

In April, an 18-year-old in Carrollton, Texas, was charged with making a terrorist threat, a state violation, after she posted on social media from a Walmart after visiting a testing site. “If I'm going down, all you [expletive] are going down,” she said in a video. Her bond was set at $20,000.

State communicable-disease statutes, sometimes originally written to prosecute the intentional spread of sexually-transmitted diseases, have also been cited as potentially applicable to coronavirus cases.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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