DOJ Charges Rocky Mountain Lab Scientists

The Department of Justice charged two researchers at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory for "smuggling monkeypox into the U.S."

"Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe, both researchers with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory were charged today in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox into the United States and giving false statements to federal law enforcement, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. announced." - The United States Attorney's Office

Montana Senator Tim Sheehy chimed in via press release.

“This announcement by DOJ is exactly why I called for the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate the security protocols at Rocky Mountain Laboratory. Allowing foreign nationals to smuggle dangerous viruses into the United States puts at risk the safety and wellbeing of the American people — and in this case, in particular hardworking Montanans."

Sheehy goes on to say he was pleased with the actions taken by the DOJ.

"These two scientists lied to CBP and betrayed the public’s trust, and I’m glad to see the Department of Justice taking action to hold them accountable. I will keep fighting to deliver the answers Montana families deserve.”

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Munster is a citizen of the Netherlands and serves as the Chief of the Virus Ecology Section at the Rocky Mountain Lab. Kwe is a citizen of Cameroon.

The two flew into Detroit Metropolitan Airport on January 25 from the Republic of Congo and are being accused of falsely telling Customs and Border Protection about the contents of a black briefcase. The case contained 113 vials, with at least 17 testing positive for the monkeypox virus.

The full release can be found here.