Vincent Munster

The Trump administration has increased prosecutions and public criticism of federal scientists studying viruses, including charges against NIH researcher Vincent Munster for importing specimens without proper documentation. Sen. Rand Paul and others have targeted scientists like Anthony Fauci, alleging misinformation about the pandemic's origins, while conservative groups amplified conspiracy theories, damaging public trust in critical research.

The US House committee on energy and commerce is investigating the National Institutes of Health after two scientists were charged with smuggling mpox samples into the United States without declaring them and lying to investigators. Federal law enforcement alleges that Dr. Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe transported undeclared vials containing mpox and provided false information.

A senior NIH scientist and a research fellow were charged with smuggling vials of deactivated mpox virus into the U.S. from Africa and lying during interviews at a Michigan airport. The criminal complaint was filed in federal court in Detroit against Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe, who work at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana.

Two scientists at a U.S. government lab were charged with smuggling vials of deactivated mpox virus into the U.S. from Africa and lying to authorities during an airport stop in Detroit. They were intercepted at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after a trip to the Republic of Congo and failed to declare the biological materials or obtain required permission.

Two U.S. government lab scientists were charged with smuggling deactivated mpox virus vials into the U.S. from Africa and lying to authorities during an airport interview. They were stopped at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after a trip to the Republic of Congo, where an mpox outbreak caused over 2,000 deaths.