TOPLINE
A St. Petersburg man has been indicted and is facing federal prison time after police say he threatened to spread Covid-19 by coughing and spitting on officers, which is a continuation of a troubling trend emerging in America and internationally with individuals expectorating and coughing in public.
MIRAMAR, FL - MAY 20: Protesters are seen in front of Miramar City Hall to protest a furlough ... [+]
KEY FACTS
The U.S. Attorney's Office announced on Thursday the return of an indictment charging James Jamal Curry (31, St. Petersburg) with perpetrating a biological weapon hoax; if convicted, he faces up to 5 years in federal prison.
According to court documents, Curry was arrested twice in the span of two days and, while claiming to have the coronavirus, spat on an arresting officer multiple times—hitting the officer in the face, nose, and inside her mouth with blood-filled saliva.
Earlier this month, according to the Milford Police Department, a Connecticut man was arrested after spitting at police officers and claiming he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
In Michigan this past weekend, a 25-year-old Pontiac was jailed and now faces possible charges of assault and making terrorist threats toward hospital emergency room staff after spitting at them and saying he was infected with the Covid-19 virus.
Trevor Belle, a 61-year old black cab driver from London, died from Covid-19 after being spat at by a passenger who told him 'I've got the coronavirus and now you've got it, too.'
Belly Mujinga, 47, was working on the concourse of Victoria station in central London on the morning March 22nd when a man who said he had Covid-19 spat and coughed at her and a colleague; within days of the assault, both women fell ill with the virus and Mujinga later died.
Big Number:
1,591,731: That's the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States as of Thursday afternoon.
Crucial quote:
"He then told her that he spit on her intentionally because he had coronavirus," Curry's affidavit says. "He also stated that he knew where she lived and that he was going to kill her."
Key Background:
While purposely spitting on others has been considered criminal, punishment for such acts will be far more drastic due to the dangers now posed since the start of the pandemic. Late last month, Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen sent U.S. attorneys and federal law enforcement agencies a memorandum advising Department of Justice officials that they should consider prosecuting certain "purposeful exposure or infection of others with COVID-19" under federal terrorism-related statutes. This resulted from intelligence gathered by the FBI, which indicated racist extremist groups, including neo-Nazis, were encouraging members who contract the coronavirus disease to spread the disease to cops and Jews.
Further Reading:
Why Spitters Could Be Charged As Terrorists Because Of The Coronavirus (Forbes)
Emergency room patient with COVID-19 arrested after spitting at doctor, nurses (The Detroit News)
Connecticut man charged with spitting at cops, claiming he had coronavirus (Daily News)
