Roger Stone falsely claimed that the COVID-19 vaccine has injured or killed millions of Americans while speaking at a large gathering for anti-vaccine advocates on Saturday.
While speaking at the “Truth About Cancer” conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Stone, a prominent ally of former President Donald Trump, accused Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, of lying about the origins of the COVID-19 virus.
He also asked when “29 FBI agents” will storm Fauci’s house.
“When will he be arrested and prosecuted for lying to congress?” Stone said. “He lied about the creation and development of a virus, the vaccination for which clearly has injured or killed millions of Americans.”
It is not known exactly how many people have died from the vaccine. However, reports of people dying after getting vaccine are rare, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
From December 14, 2020, to October 18, 2021, more than 408 million doses were administered in the United States. During that same time, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System received 8,878 reports of deaths among people who have received a vaccine.
However, the number of vaccine-related deaths is likely much lower, as not all deaths reported to VAERS are attributable to the vaccine, according to the CDC. There have also been rare occurrences of blood clots from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
“Reports of adverse events to VAERS following vaccination, including deaths, do not necessarily mean that a vaccine caused a health problem,” the CDC’s website reads.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 has claimed at least 736,000 lives in the United States, according to data from The New York Times. The CDC strongly urges anyone who is eligible to take the vaccine.
Stone previously served as an adviser to Trump.
He allegedly has ties to far-right extremist groups including the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. In 2019, he was found guilty of witness tampering, obstructing a congressional investigation and lying to the U.S. government with connection with Russian dealings in the 2016 election. His sentence was commuted by the former president before he left office.
Stone has previously endorsed baseless conspiracies, including QAnon, and denied the results of the 2020 election.
He has also previously spoken out against vaccine mandates.
At an event in Lakeland, Florida, in September, Stone told a crowd, “We bind ourselves today to work together, to pray together, to fight together, to save this country from the evil cabal of media, and government and Big Pharma that would seek to destroy us,” according to LkldNow, a local news outlet.