BALTIMORE – A Texas man will have to appear in Baltimore to answer a charge of threatening a Maryland doctor who has been a prominent advocate for COVID-19 vaccines, federal prosecutors said.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Baltimore announced that Scott Eli Harris, 51, of Aubrey, Texas, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of sending a threat across state lines. He was expected in court in Plano, Texas, on Wednesday ahead of an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore at a later date, according to the news release.
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The one-count indictment alleges that on July 12, Harris sent a threat from his cell phone to the doctor, identified in court documents only as “Dr. L. W., who had been a vocal proponent of the COVID-19 vaccine.”
The message crudely referred to the doctor as Chinese and included violent statements such as “Never going to take your wonder drug. My 12 gauge promises I won’t. … I can’t wait for the shooting to start,” according to the indictment.
If convicted, Harris faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, the news release said. No attorney is listed for Harris in online court records.