Anti-vaxxer who destroyed Covid vaccines is also a flat earther and believes the sky is ‘fake’

A man who sabotaged hundreds of doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine in Wisconsin has been discovered to be not just an anti-vaxxer but also a believer in the flat earth conspiracy theory.

46-year-old Steven Brandenburg was arrested in late December after her purposely destroyed 570 doses of the vaccine by twice removing a box containing the vials from a refrigerator at Advocate Aurora Health Systems in Grafton, Wisconsin. 

The vaccines can only survive for 12 hours outside of a refrigerator, something which Brandenberg, a qualified pharmacist, knowingly knew before they were subsequently given to 57 patients. 

Fresh information has since emerged about Brandenburg thanks to an unsealed FBI search warrant that was shared by The Daily Beast. The document reveals that the FBI were able to analyse his iPhone, a laptop, and a thumb drive which exposed some of the conspiracies that he had brought into. 

As well as believing that the vaccine contained a microchip that would “turn off people’s birth control and make others infertile” he also believed the earth is flat and that the sky was fake. “Some of the conspiracy theories Brandenburg told [the coworker] about included: the earth is flat; the sky is not real, rather it is a shield put up by the Government to prevent individuals from seeing God; and Judgment Day is coming" the filing read.

According to one of his co-workers, Sarah Sticker, Brandenburg would carry a handgun with him at all times when at work just “in case the military came to take him away.” She also told investigators that she had seen him researching the box of vials on his computer to see if there was a way of tracking the vials’ temperature.

Gretchen, Brandenburg’s wife has left her husband, claiming that she feared for her and their children’s lives as he was storing bulk food and guns in rental units as he feared the government were planning an attack on the electrical grid and America’s computer network.

Brandenburg has since attempted to claim to investigators and a subsequent email that him destroying the vaccines was a “spontaneous act” as he is in the middle of a “very contentious divorce.” However, the investigators questioned this has Brandenburg spoiled the vials two days in a row. 

He has since apologised for what he did in an email but has been fired from his job and agreed to plead guilty to two counts of attempting to tamper with consumer products with reckless disregard. He could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each charge. 

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