Licked the goods? Man in custody after false corona scare tactics in the USA
Because he falsely claimed on Facebook that he paid someone infected with corona to lick things in a supermarket, a man in the US state of Texas was sentenced to 15 months in prison. The 40-year-old has violated a law in two cases that prohibits false information and deception in connection with biological weapons, US media reported on Wednesday (local time), citing the prosecutor’s office. This also includes the corona virus. A federal judge also ordered a fine of $ 1,000 on Monday.
In April 2020, the man wrote on Facebook about a supermarket in the city of San Antonio that his corona infected cousin had “licked everything off” for a fee in the past two days. That was not true, it said on the part of the public prosecutor. The post was deleted after 16 minutes. Nevertheless, local authorities received an anonymous tip with a screenshot.
During a questioning by the Federal Police FBI, the man later said that he had tried to prevent people from going to public places through the action. The aim was to “prevent them from spreading the virus”. “Trying to scare people with the threat of spreading dangerous diseases is no fun,” said prosecutor Ashley C. Hoff. According to media reports, the man wants to appeal.