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North Carolina single father jailed for 24 hours with no bond for refusing to wear mask in judge's courtroom
A judge in Harnett County, North Carolina, put a man in prison for showing up for jury duty without a face mask.
Gregory Hahn, 47, was jailed for contempt of court after he refused to wear a face mask in Judge Charles Gilchrist's courtroom. Gilchrist is reportedly the only judge in the county who has implemented a mask mandate.
On Monday, Hahn appeared for orientation with 98 other people who were summoned for jury duty. He says that prior to showing up on Monday, there was no notice that jurors were required to wear masks.
“There were signs saying no masks were required,” Hahn told local news station WRAL-TV. “We all walked in.”
According to Superior Court clerk Renee Whittenton, everyone in Gilchrist's courtroom is required to wear a mask, and the jurors were notified of this requirement at check-in.
“You can go in any district courtroom without a mask, you can come into superior court without a mask and the [district attorney’s] office without a mask, but with Judge Gilchrist he has a mandate that you must wear a mask,” Whittenton told WRAL.
The clerk said that any juror who did not have one was provided with a mask to wear.
But Hahn said potential jurors were not told about the mask requirements. There was no notice on his summons. And there is not signage at the courthouse indicating masks are required.
“I said, ‘I’m not going to wear a mask,’” Hahn said. “He said, ‘I understand you don’t want to wear a mask,’ and I said, ‘That is correct, sir,’ and he says, ‘Why?’”
Hahn said the judge asked him again if he would refuse to wear a mask in the courtroom. He told Gilchrist that was correct.
“[Gilchrist] said ‘24 hours in the Harnett County jail,’” Hahn told WRAL.
Hahn was then handcuffed, booked, and taken to jail under no bond for contempt of court.
"I never thought this could happen in this country," Hahn said.
Harnett and Lee Counties issued a joint order on March 10, 2022, permitting the presiding judge in each courtroom to decide, at their discretion, whether masks are required, WRAL reported. Masks are optional in hallways, foyers, restrooms, meeting rooms, and other areas elsewhere in the courthouse.
Hahn said he asked the judge if he could be excused since it was one day in jail.
He recounted that Gilchrist said, "I could, but I'm not going to."
Hahn, a single father, also asked if he could call his son at home. The judge refused, Hahn said.
“I was dumbfounded,” Hahn said. “I felt it was bullying.”
He told WRAL that his 24 hours spent in jail were the worst of his life and accused the judge of bringing in his personal beliefs into the courtroom.
"I'm jailed for doing my civic duty and not doing anything," Hahn said. "It's mind-boggling."
He added that the judge acted hypocritically and told WRAL he's considering filing a lawsuit.
“The irony of this whole thing is that the judge was talking to me without a mask on,” Hahn told WRAL.
Watch:
'F*** you, Fauci!' Megyn Kelly deconstructs every one of Dr. Anthony Fauci's lies in brutal takedown
Megyn Kelly ripped White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci on her podcast Wednesday, reacting to Fauci's announcement that he will step down from his government role before the end of the year.
The former Fox News anchor blasted Fauci, who told CNN earlier this week he will "certainly consider" testifying before Congress after he steps down from his role at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Republicans have promised to call Fauci, the chief government spokesman during the COVID-19 pandemic, to testify on his recommendations and oversight of funding for coronavirus research in Wuhan, China.
"He sounds like he's been invited to afternoon tea at one of our houses," Kelly said on SiriusXM's "The Megyn Kelly Show" podcast. "F*** you, Fauci! You don't get to say whether you go. You get a congressional subpoena, you show up, or you get the Steve Bannon treatment."
Steve Bannon, the former chief strategist to President Donald Trump and a media personality, was found guilty of criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to answer a subpoena to testify on the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
\u201cDr. Fauci says he'll "consider" appearing before Congress next year. @MegynKelly: "You don't get to say whether you go. You get a congressional subpoena, you show up, or you get the Steve Bannon treatment..."\n\nWatch her FULL monologue on Fauci's lies here: https://t.co/3fC9p5r9t2\u201d— The Megyn Kelly Show (@The Megyn Kelly Show) 1661390232
In a monologue on Wednesday's podcast, Kelly savaged Fauci, accusing him of lying repeatedly to the American people and of encouraging policies that failed to slow the spread of COVID-19 but succeeded in tearing the country apart.
“The truth is that Dr. Fauci, who had a greater hand than anyone in causing Americans to lose their jobs, years of learning, and even their lives — thanks to the social and economic upheaval he helped foist upon us during the pandemic — ought to be ashamed to show his face in polite society,” Kelly said. “Instead the man is self-congratulatory.”
Kelly tore into Fauci's record, blaming his COVID-19 pandemic recommendations for encouraging politicians to enact lockdown policies that she said killed jobs, kept children out of school, and tanked the economy. She accused him of lying about his views on masks and misleading the public by shifting goalposts to get people to accept harsh pandemic restrictions. Kelly said Fauci and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ignored evidence that contradicted their COVID-19 guidance and arrogantly declared that anyone who disagreed with their positions was criticizing "science."
“He mocked the idea of natural immunity, eliminating the need for his mandatory, beloved vaccines, despite admitting years earlier that natural immunity is in fact the gold standard,” Kelly said. “His unexplained reversal cost millions their livelihoods. As of October of 2021, 5% of unvaccinated adults said they had lost a job due to a vaccine mandate, according to the Kaiser Foundation.”
She reviewed how truckers, health care workers, police officers, and military members have been forced out of their jobs because of their convictions about the COVID-19 vaccines.
“But Fauci’s biggest lie was told under oath, when he testified before Congress that his group at the [National Institutes of Health] never funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China,” Kelly said. “The kind that experiments on bat coronavirus to try to make them more lethal or more transmissible in humans.”
Fauci has repeatedly denied lying about NIH support for gain-of-function research in high-profile clashes with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) during multiple congressional testimonies. Kelly noted that the NIH contradicted Fauci by appearing to admit in writing that the nonprofit group EcoHealth Alliance violated the terms of an NIH grant by funding gain-of-function experiments.
She condemned Fauci for being unapologetic for his handling of the pandemic and "indifferent to the harm he has caused." She expressed particular scorn for his recent comments on Fox News saying that he does not think that COVID-19 lockdowns have "irreparably damaged anyone."
\u201cCavuto: "Do you think shutdowns particularly for kids who couldn't go to school that it's forever damaged them?"\n\nFauci: "I don't think it's irreparably damaged anyone."\u201d— Greg Price (@Greg Price) 1661286701
“We should pray this guy never gets near another grant or health group again in his life,” Kelly said. “He has destroyed the trust in public health. His decisions have hurt countless numbers of people. He did it all while posing on magazine covers and celebrating himself and his outsized ego, while our kids were muzzled and missed years of school as we all missed funerals and weddings and the chance to say goodbye to loved ones on their deathbeds.
"And we did indeed suffer irreparable harm, sir, whether you care to admit it or not," she concluded. "Good riddance, Dr. Fauci. You are not truth and you will not be missed.”
Watch:
Megyn Kelly SLAMS Dr. Fauci and Reveals the Truth About His Lies: "GOOD RIDDANCE!" youtu.be
Fully vaxxed, double-boosted Biden tests positive for COVID-19
President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, the White House said Thursday.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre issued a statement announcing the "fully vaccinated and twice boosted" 79-year-old president is experiencing "very mild symptoms" and has begun treatment for his illness. Biden is taking Paxlovid, the COVID-19 antiviral drug developed by Pfizer.
The president's symptoms include a runny nose and fatigue, "with an occasional dry cough, which started yesterday evening," the White House said.
\u201cBREAKING: Pres. Biden\u2019s physician says the president is mostly experiencing a runny nose and fatigue, \u201cwith an occasional dry cough, which started yesterday evening.\u201d https://t.co/yuYhFxLLpk\u201d— ABC News Politics (@ABC News Politics) 1658413968
He will isolate at the White House and work remotely while he is ill, according to Jean-Pierre.
"Consistent with White House protocol for positive COVID cases, which goes above and beyond CDC guidance, he will continue to work in isolation until he tests negative. Once he tests negative, he will return to in-person work," she said.
"Out of an abundance of transparency, the White House will provide a daily update on the President’s status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation," she added.
This is the first time Biden has tested positive for the coronavirus. His last negative test was taken on Tuesday.
First lady Jill Biden told reporters in Detroit, Michigan, on Thursday that her husband is "feeling good," per CNBC News.
“I talked to him just a few minutes ago, he’s doing fine,” Jill Biden said. She tested negative for COVID on Thursday, according to her office.
The first lady is visiting public schools in Detroit and will discuss how federal funds are being spent to address students' mental health issues and pandemic-related learning disruptions, CNBC reported.
Biden received his second COVID-19 booster shot in March and has consistently urged Americans to get fully vaccinated and boosted to protect against severe illness and death from the deadly disease.
He received the first dose of the Pfizer mRNA vaccine in December 2020 and his second dose in January 2021, both on live television. He took the first Pfizer booster shot in September 2021.
Biden gave a public address in Massachusetts on Wednesday where he announced new executive actions on climate change. Several lawmakers and members of his administration were in attendance, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), climate envoy John Kerry, and climate advisor Gina McCarthy.
So far, none of those officials have reported positive COVID-19 tests after being in contact with Biden.
Vice President Kamala Harris was traveling to Charlotte, North Carolina, for a meeting with state leaders on the Biden administration's investments in high speed internet when the White House made its announcement, her office told NBC News. Her scheduled plans have not yet changed, NBC reported.
Emails contradict Biden administration denials that EcoHealth Alliance received DARPA funding for virus research
Newly released documents appear to contradict denials by the the U.S. government that the Defense Department funded activities by EcoHealth Alliance, the controversial nonprofit group that requested a government grant for risky virus research in 2018.
Investigative journalist Paul D. Thacker published emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request Tuesday that show the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency funded researchers at the University of California at Davis who had partnered with EcoHealth Alliance on a pandemic preparedness program.
\u201cAlso, can someone explain how Peter Daszak gave himself a 24% pay raise in 1 year, yet @Ayjchan & @mattwridley are constantly called "grifters" for writing a book? And @USRightToKnow are "grifters" for using FOIA? https://t.co/KbJPBIJh9f\u201d— Paul D. Thacker (@Paul D. Thacker) 1655810641
Last September, leaked documents revealed that EcoHealth Alliance president Peter Daszak had submitted a proposal to DARPA for a grant to collect bat viruses in China and then conduct gain-of-function research experiments with "humanized" and "batified" mice. The agency ultimately rejected Dasak's proposal after reviewers determined it violated federal guidelines on gain-of-function research.
When contacted by TheBlaze at the time, DARPA would neither confirm nor deny that EcoHealth Alliance submitted the proposal.
"Information contained within bids is considered proprietary and can only be released by the bidder. That being said, DARPA has never funded directly, nor indirectly as a subcontractor, any activity or researcher associated with the EcoHealth Alliance or Wuhan Institute of Virology," a spokesman for the agency said.
However, the new emails reported by Thacker in his newsletter, the DisInformation Chronicle, contradict the agency's statement. They show that just a few months after Daszak submitted his proposal in 2018, UC Davis researchers were discussing a pandemic preparedness program and year-five budget figures for their partners including EcoHealth Alliance, Metabiota, and the Smithsonian Institution.
“So, in the EHA-specific budget workbook, you will see text boxes in some countries that include the additional justification provided by EHA,” wrote Elizabeth Leasure, the financial operations manager for UC Davis' One Health Institute.
Her email, dated Aug. 7, 2018, discussed budget figures for EcoHealth Alliance virus sampling in various countries, including China. Leasure also indicated that a DARPA award for the program would begin in October, and that subawards to EcoHealth and other UC Davis partners would be used to cover staffing and other costs.
“Some current staff/other costs will be moved to DARPA once the subaward is in place, so those freed up funds could be reallocated to other countries or testing, as needed," Leasure wrote.
In an Aug. 8, 2018 response, UC Davis researcher Jonna Mazet wrote that the main reason for the increase in EcoHealth Alliance's budget had to do with personnel costs, including that Daszak received a 24% increase in his personal compensation from the prior year.
Although the emails show that DARPA funding for UC Davis was planned to be sub-awarded to EcoHealth Alliance, a spokesman for DARPA repeated the agency's previous denial.
“Consistent with DARPA’s previous statement, the agency has never funded EcoHealth Alliance directly, nor indirectly as a subcontractor,” a DARPA spokesperson told the Disinformation Chronicle.
Thacker wrote that the agency's repeated denials "add to a growing body of evidence that the Biden Administration is not interested in reviewing activities by the EcoHealth Alliance."
In 2020, the NIH created a thunderstorm of disapproval when it shut down an EcoHealth Alliance grant; 77 Nobel Laureates criticized the Trump administration for pulling the coronavirus research. “We believe that this action sets a dangerous precedent by interfering in the conduct of science and jeopardizes public trust in the process of awarding federal funds for research," they wrote.
This October, 18 months after the grant was terminated, the NIH notified Congress that EcoHealth Alliance had failed to comply with the timely submission of a research progress report for the grant. Since the NIH terminated that grant in 2020, the agency has awarded EcoHealth Alliance $4.2 million in funding for 4 different projects.
Last year, the NIH’s Anthony Fauci misled Congress during testimony about his role funding research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology through an EHA subcontract. Finally, the Inspector General for Health and Human Services told the DisInformation Chronicle last month that they were not investigating EHA, despite receiving multiple criminal referrals about the nonprofit from both congressional committees and the NIH.
DARPA did not respond to a request for comment from TheBlaze.
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