Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed his bafflement with the presence of a January 6 defendant making faces in the background of his heated testimony to Congress Monday.
Fauci went head-to-head with Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene, whotold the formerdirector of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases he was 'not a doctor' and 'belonged in prison' during heated questioning.
He was interviewed Monday night about the presence of a man behind him who was consistently making faces and shaking his head at Fauci's testimony.
It was revealed the mystery man was Brandon Fellows, a pro-MAGA rioter who smoked weed in Senator Jeff Merkley's office during the insurrection. He waswas just released from prison on May 20.
Fauci said he was made aware of who was sitting behind him after the hearing and asked: 'What's somebody like that doing at a hearing about COVID?'
Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed his bafflement with the presence of a January 6 defendant making faces in the background of his heated testimony to Congress Monday
CNN host Kaitlan Collins claimed that Fellows yelled out in agreement when Greene said that Fauci belonged in prison.
Fellows, a native of upstate New York, was sentencedto 37 months in prison plus an additional five months for a contempt of court charge on felony and misdemeanor charges for his actions during the breach of the Capitol.
He drove from upstate New York to DC in a mini-bus where he sleeps to attend the riot after Trump tweeted about his rally that was planned for the same day.
He was emboldened by the President's claims and along with thousands of others, stormed the Capitol, breaking windows and threatening Capitol cops as they made their way inside.
Once in the building, he got to into Merkley's office where he put his feet on the table and took two drags from a joint that was handed to him by another rioter.
All of this went on Snapchat, along with videos that he has since shared on Instagram where he chats jovially with the cops, asks them for directions and even poses with them.
Heposed with cops afterward and claims his Bumbleprofile has 'blown up' since he uploaded the photos there is planning to return to the Capitol for another protest and has still not been arrested.
Another rioter, who was live streaming, asked Fellows: 'What is your message?'
BrandonFellows, a native of upstate New York, was sentenced to 37 months in prison plus an additional five months for a contempt of court charge on felony and misdemeanor charges for his actions during the breach of the Capitol
CNN host Kaitlan Collins claimed that Fellows yelled out in agreement when Greene said that Fauci belonged in prison
Fellows replied: 'Man, oh man, we got pissed. We ripped it out of the hands of these police officers,' followed by an eruption of laughter.
'Brought my heart joy to see these members terrified for their lives. For what they have done and are doing to this country I hope they live in constant fear,' he wrote on social media afterwards.
He was arrested on January 16in New York by the FBI.
After the riot, he gave an interview to Bloomberg where he says his Bumble dating profile has 'blown up' with attention because of the interest in his Capitol riot pictures.
In an interview with Bloomberg that was published on Tuesday, he said: 'I have no regrets. I didn’t hurt anyone, I didn’t break anything. I did trespass though, I guess.
'Did I think I was going to get in trouble? Uh no.
'Obviously Trump started a movement in a way, but I think we started something even bigger by doing this.
'Do you think I’m going to go to federal prison? I was told federal prison is not fun.'
Brandon Fellows, 26, drove from upstate New York to DC in a mini-bus where he sleeps to attend the riot last week after Trump tweeted about his rally that was planned for the same day
Fellows at the rally on Wednesday, brushing his teeth. He said he wanted to be part 'of history'
Fauci's testimony made headlines throughout Monday, largely for his tet-a-tet with pro-MAGA Representative Greene.
The Republican firebrand was rebuked by colleagues for her questioning as Fauci was grilled over his pandemic response and COVID origins.
Greenealso claimed that Fauci's 'repulsive, evil science,' led to school children having to endure class with masks and claimed he abused puppies with his testing.
The Georgia lawmaker also showed the hearing photos of him sat in the empty seats of a Washington Nationals baseball game after he threw out the first pitch.
He was sat close to two colleagues in an image she said broke his social distancing guidelines.
'Do you think that's appropriate... Mr. Fauci, because you're not a doctor in my few minutes...that man does not deserve to have a license. As a matter of a fact it should be revoked and he belongs in prison,' Greene said.
'We should be recommending you to be prosecuted... for crimes against humanity,' the Georgia Republican continued.
Freshman Democrat Robert Garcia slammed Greene for her 'ridiculous' attacks on Fauci.
The Republican firebrand was rebuked by colleagues for her questioning as Fauci was grilled over his pandemic response and COVID origins
Greene also claimed that Fauci's 'repulsive, evil science,' led to school children having to endure class with masks and claimed he abused puppies with his testing
He says this has been the most unruly conference in his 1.5 years in Congress.
Fauci got emotional when detailing death threats against him and his children, while also insisting taxpayer dollars were not used for risky gain-of-function research in China and he never used personal email for 'official business.'
His bombshell admission came before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic that has been seeking for over a year now to determine the origins of the pandemic that killed over a million Americans and millions more globally.
The fast-paced hearing slowed down briefly when Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., asked Fauci about the personal toll his role on the White House Coronavirus Taskforce cost him.
'Myself, my three daughters, they have had credible death threats, leading to the arrests of different individuals,' he said. 'Credible death threats meaning someone who clearly was on their way to killing.'
'It's very troublesome to me,' he continued. 'It is even more troublesome because they involve my wife.'
