Anti-vaxxer podcaster dies from COVID-19 after contracting virus at far-right Reawaken America conference
- Anti-vax and far-right podcaster Doug Kuzma has died from COVID-19.
- He caught the virus at the ReAwaken America conference, where speakers included Eric Trump and Mike Lindell.
Anti-vaxxer Doug Kuzma, 61, who ran the FROG news podcast network, has died on January 3 after contracting COVID-19 at a right-wing rally.
Posts in the right-wing Telegram channel Frog News Network announced Kuzma's passing, Insider can confirm.
In the channel, Kuzma had posted about having a fever of 102. His messages then stopped.
Kuzma's daughter Amanda spoke to The Daily Beast about her father and said: "I really loved him, and I would do anything for him. He was a great father."
Before he passed, a Frog News Telegram post said, "Doug needs heavy, heavy prayers," noting that he was unconscious and unable to respond to calls or messages.
According to pro-Trump attorney Lin Wood, Kuma contracted the virus at the ReAwaken America event in Dallas from December 9-11, 2021, where Wood was a speaker.
He posted to Telegram in later December that, "Doug is suffering from Covid after returning from a recent patriot conference. Anna [a friend of Kuzma] informs me that Doug has taken a turn for the worse," Wood wrote. "His lungs are not responding to treatment," reported the Daily Beast.
When he was ill, Kuzma remained an outspoken critic of the COVID-19 vaccines. Writing on his Facebook and detailing his symptoms of COVID-19 - which he repeatedly insisted was bronchitis - someone told him to go and get a COVID test.
"No way," he replied, "You must have lost your mind so they can kill me. And try to give me the jab. There's no way bro I'll die at the house before I go to the hospital." He added.
On Christmas Eve, Kuzma was found unconscious at his home and was rushed to the ICU at Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News, Virginia, VICE reports. He did not respond to treatment.
The event where Kuzma supposedly caught the virus saw speakers including MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, the far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and Eric Trump, according to the event's website.
Some people left the ReAwaken America event suffering from a dry cough and shortness of breath. Rather than considering a COVID-19 outbreak, however, far-right influencers baselessly suggested these symptoms resulted from an anthrax attack at the event. Kieran Press-Reynolds has the full story.
While vaccines have been available to the public since early 2021, several conservative podcasters and radio hosts who've expressed anti-vaccine sentiments have contracted COVID-19. At least seven of them died this year, including Phil Valentine, Marc Bernier, Doug Kuzma, and Pressley Stutts.