WASHINGTON — A deadly shooting at one of the public health agencies that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vilified during his rise to power is proving to be a unique test of his leadership, at a time when fractures are emerging in his Make America Healthy Again movement.
On Friday, a gunman, reportedly motivated by anti-vaccine beliefs, fired more than 180 rounds at the Atlanta headquarters campus of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, killing a police officer and leaving windows shattered. Employees have expressed fear for their physical safety and anger about what many believe contributed to the attack.
“Unfortunately, mistruths from the Department of Health and Human Services, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [and] the Trump administration have resulted in the vilification of this agency,” Tatishka Thomas, a national vice president of the union that represents CDC workers, told reporters on Monday. “I am not blaming the Trump administration for the attack. However, he did turn the agency that focuses on safeguarding our country against infectious diseases into a political issue.”
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