750 HHS Employees Confront RFK Jr. Over Vaccine Lies and Violence

After a deadly CDC shooting, HHS staff demand Kennedy stop fueling anti-vaccine violence.

Wednesday morning, over 750 employees and alumni of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) dropped a political bombshell on Capitol Hill, a signed letter demanding that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stop spreading disinformation that they say is endangering their lives.

It comes in the wake of a mass shooting at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, where a vaccine-motivated gunman murdered a police officer and attempted to storm one of America’s most respected public health institutions. The shooter believed COVID vaccines had “poisoned” him, a theory that has been normalized at the highest levels of power.

Now, the people who dedicate their lives to protecting the nation’s health are speaking out. As one CDC scientist put it anonymously, “We are under siege from within.”

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The Letter: A Defiant Stand for Truth

In a move virtually unheard of within the typically restrained world of federal agencies, over 750 HHS employees and alumni signed a letter that reads more like a whistleblower alert than a bureaucratic memo.

The letter, delivered to both Congress and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reflects an urgent and collective cry for help and accountability. The tone is serious, unflinching, and at times, deeply personal.

“Your words and actions have helped normalize a hostile, dangerous environment for those of us who serve the public,” the letter states. “We do not feel safe. And we are not being protected.”

It accuses Kennedy of:

• Spreading vaccine disinformation that undermines public trust.

• Firing respected health experts who challenge his fringe views.

• Fomenting hostility toward public servants doing science-based work.

The letter specifically references the August 8 CDC shooting, in which a vaccine-radicalized gunman murdered a police officer and targeted public health workers. It positions that tragedy not as an isolated act of violence, but as a predictable outcome of dangerous rhetoric and conspiratorial policymaking.

“This was not random,” one of the signers said anonymously. “We have warned leadership for months. Now the blood is on the floor.”

To address this, the signers demand:

• New emergency safety protocols by September 2 to protect federal health workers.

• The removal of ‘DEI watchlists’, online posts used to identify and harass staff working on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• A public disavowal of vaccine disinformation, restoring the CDC’s credibility and reaffirming science-based governance.

More than 750 current and former HHS employees signed the letter, a reflection of widespread concern. Notably, nearly 400 current staff also signed on, demonstrating the breadth and immediacy of institutional unease.

Many signers remained anonymous, citing a growing fear of retaliation inside the department, a chilling indicator of just how deeply the climate of mistrust and intimidation has penetrated.

“This is not political. It’s existential,” said one NIH researcher. “We’re watching the collapse of trust in public health from the inside out.”

What Triggered This? A Deadly Day in Atlanta

On the morning of August 8, 2025, the quiet outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) campus in Atlanta was shattered by the sound of automatic gunfire. The shooter, later identified as Patrick Joseph White, a 30-year-old man from Kennesaw, Georgia, had entered a CVS pharmacy adjacent to the CDC’s Roybal campus. He broke through a window inside the store and opened fire on federal buildings from what effectively became a sniper’s perch.

White fired nearly 200 rounds, unleashing chaos on a government agency already under siege from disinformation and political hostility. The aftermath revealed more than 500 shell casings, a staggering sign of just how deadly the attack could have been. Tragically, one responder, DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose, was killed in the line of duty while confronting the shooter. White was later found dead, either by suicide or from return fire.

In the days that followed, investigators pieced together the motive behind the carnage. According to his father and authorities, White had become radicalized by anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, believing the COVID-19 vaccine had damaged his mind and body. His writings and digital trail revealed a deep descent into paranoia, rage, and scapegoating. His target was no accident.

He believed the CDC had “poisoned” him, so he took aim at them.

Though no evidence has tied White’s radicalization directly to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his attack didn’t occur in a vacuum. It happened in a climate where distrust in public health has been actively stoked by prominent voices in government, where conspiracy theories are no longer fringe but are echoed in press briefings and policy decisions.

As one health official put it bluntly: “He didn’t just walk into a CVS by accident. He chose the CDC. That was the target of his rage.”

This was not random violence. It was targeted. And for the scientists, doctors, and health officials working inside HHS, it was a terrifying confirmation of what they had feared all along: the disinformation is no longer just dangerous—it’s deadly.

See our reporting this spring about the troubling leadership at our top health agencies:

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RFK Jr.’s Dangerous Doublespeak

Kennedy’s recent appointment as Health Secretary, despite a long history of anti-vaccine activism and COVID conspiracies, was controversial from day one. Now that blood has been spilled at the CDC’s gates, the consequences are no longer theoretical.

Even if Kennedy didn’t directly inspire the shooter, his decades of delegitimizing vaccines, undermining public health institutions, and firing science-based advisory panels have helped foster a political and cultural climate where health workers are targets.

A HHS scientist summarized it like this: “He may not have pulled the trigger, but he lit the match.”

This Isn’t Just About Policy. It’s About Survival

When scientists are afraid to go to work, when truth-tellers are hunted by radicals, when public servants must choose between safety and science, we are no longer debating policy. We are deciding what kind of country we want to be.

The 750 brave signers of this letter have made their choice clear.

Now it’s time for the rest of us to do the same.

Sources:

• "US health department staff urge Kennedy to protect workers after CDC shooting" – Reuters

• "US health agency workers accuse RFK Jr of fueling violence against them" – The Guardian

• "HHS workers accuse RFK Jr. of stoking violence against them" – Axios

• "Father of CDC shooter says son believed Covid vaccine had sickened him" – The Guardian

• "Gunman who opened fire outside CDC blamed COVID-19 vaccine, father says" – AP News