Death Threats Aimed At Sarasota Doctors Over COVID Performance: Police

SARASOTA, FL — In recent weeks, doctors and other staff members at Sarasota Memorial Hospital have received death threats and harassing messages after the results of an internal investigation that found the hospital “performed strongly” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most of the “threatening, verbally abusive messages” are not from Sarasota-area residents, the hospital system told Patch. “Many are full of profanity, and some include death threats.”

Sarasota Police Department is looking into the threats, particularly those made against two specific doctors via the Telegram messaging app.

• Also Read: Sarasota Memorial 'Performed Strongly' During COVID Pandemic: Panel

SMH asked Patch not to name the doctors because they have been the recipients of death threats.

These specific threats investigated by police were made on a Telegram forum run by Dr. Jane Ruby, a COVID-19 anti-vaxxer who isn’t affiliated with Sarasota Memorial Hospital.

On Feb. 25, Ruby shared an article calling for the resignation of one SMH doctor “for telling people who refused to get the vaccine that they should ‘go before a firing line,’” according to an SPD incident report.

Her followers responded with “a slew of negative comments,” including one commenter who wrote, “fry the (expletive,)” police said.

A Feb. 24 post by Ruby referencing another Sarasota Memorial Hospital doctor and "how he uses his Facebook account to intimidate citizens away from informed consent and belittles anyone who wants to review the safety of experimental drugs,” also elicited threats from the same commenter, police said.

"I say put a bullet thru the (expletive) head and be done with it,” the commenter wrote, according to the incident report.

This was followed by three water gun emojis.

It's unclear if the doctors' comments were accurately repeated in these posts.

“The misinformation and misleading messages and social posts are part of an organized political campaign that is hurtful not only to our physicians and staff, but also to our community,” SMH said.

Police were unable to track down the commenter. There also isn’t “enough evidence to meet a criminal element at this time,” according to the incident report.

“It is important for the public to be aware of the political motivations fueling this misinformation campaign, to know the hateful messages are coming from people who do not live anywhere near Sarasota County and have never been patients of Sarasota Memorial, so that we as a community can stand up against these bully tactics and be prepared to protect the health of our community and its top ranked health system through the upcoming election season,” SMH said.