Simone Gold

America's Frontline Doctors video

In July 2020, Gold and her group, America's Frontline Doctors, held a press conference on the steps in front of the Supreme Court. The press conference was referred to as the "White Coat Summit" and was organized by Gold in conjunction with the Tea Party Patriots, a right-wing political organization, and was broadcast by Breitbart News. They have opposed wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Gold was fired from the hospitals where she had worked as an emergency department physician in the aftermath of the video. In the speech, she praised hydroxychloroquine and continued to make unfounded claims about dangers of the COVID-19 vaccines.

After Gold was blocked from Facebook for violating their community standards, her anti-COVID-19 vaccination speeches began appearing on the hosting platform Rumble, which does not have a policy on misinformation. These videos feature Gold telling audiences not to get vaccinated for COVID-19 and praising hydroxychloroquine as a treatment despite numerous studies showing it was ineffective against SARS-CoV-2. She alleged the United States government experimented on black people to test the general safety of vaccines.

On February 14, 2021, over one month after participating in the storming of the Capitol building, Gold spoke at Awaken Church in San Marcos, California, discouraging members of the congregation from being vaccinated for COVID-19.

Participation in the 2021 Capitol attack and conviction

On January 5, 2021, Gold spoke at a rally in Washington, D.C. to a crowd of people gathering in the city for the following day's "Stop the Steal" rally. She opposed the COVID-19 vaccines, claimed COVID-19 was non-fatal, and made additional unfounded claims about the vaccines. She told supporters, "If you don't want to take an experimental biological agent deceptively named a vaccine, you must not allow yourself to be coerced!" Gold was scheduled to speak at the Rally for Health Freedom scheduled for 6 January, but the rally was cancelled before her speech. She then joined the crowd and illegally entered the Capitol building along with America's Frontline Doctors Communications Director, John Strand. Gold and Strand were seen on video footage "in the middle of a crowd attempting to push past law enforcement officials to get inside."

Gold and Strand were later identified by FBI wanted images from the event circulated on social media.

In February 2022, Gold pleaded guilty to knowingly and unlawfully "entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds," (a Class A misdemeanor). She was sentenced to 60 days in prison and a $9,500 fine. She served her sentence at a federal prison in Miami, and was released on September 9, 2022. Ignoring her guilty plea, upon her release, Congressman Louie Gohmert gifted her a flag that flew over the United States Capitol and falsely called her "a political prisoner."

On January 20, 2025, the first day of the second presidency of Donald Trump, Gold was pardoned along with nearly every other participant in the Capitol riot.

Child vaccination lawsuit On May 21, 2021, Gold and America's Frontline Doctors sued the United States Department of Health and Human Services in an attempt to prevent children from receiving COVID-19 vaccines. The 80-page petition, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, calls the vaccines "experimental injections" and falsely claims COVID-19 presents "zero risk" of death to children. She spoke at an event for donors to the Council for National Policy, a right-wing Christian group, in November 2020. Gold and America's Frontline Doctors held an RV tour across the US in May 2021, called the "Uncensored Truth Tour".

In November 2022 Gold was sued by the America's Frontline Doctors, the non-profit she helped establish. She is accused of using funds from the organization to purchase a $3.6 million dollar home along with other personal expenses. As of May 2023, the case is in mediation.

Reactions from the medical community Gold has been criticized for her views surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines. Jeffrey Koplan, an epidemiologist, vice president for Global Health at Emory University, and former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, "She and her organization show a willful ignorance of science and the scientific method, as well as a disrespect for accomplished scientific institutions and brilliant scientists." detailing her experiences with COVID-19 patients and sharing her opinions about the pandemic.