Fauci given security detail after threats: Source

Dr. Anthony Fauci, someone millions of Americans are trusting to help them deal with the coronavirus crisis, has now had to be given increased security after threats to his safety, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News.

The source did not reveal the nature of the threats against Fauci, director of the National Institute of of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health.

In recent days, upon the recommendation of the U. S. Marshals Service, the department approved the special deputization request from HHS for more than a half dozen HHS inspector general special agents to provide protective services for Fauci.

Tune into ABC at 1 p.m. ET and ABC News Live at 4 p.m. ET every weekday for special coverage of the novel coronavirus with the full ABC News team, including the latest news, context and analysis.

As Fauci has become one of the more prominent national faces for the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus, some in far-right or fringe conspiracy websites have baselessly sought to cast him as a member of the 'deep-state' resistance out to undermine Trump.

Facebook posts have re-surfaced a series of emails in 2012 and 2013 from Fauci sent to aides of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- part of a WikiLeaks dump of emails believed to be hacked by Russian operatives, in which Fauci expressed admiration for Clinton.

The criticism, however, doesn't appear yet to have had a major impact on President Trump's thinking towards Fauci. Even as Fauci has publicly corrected Trump in several instances related to the pandemic, Trump has described Fauci as "extraordinary" and "fantastic" in interviews and briefings at the White House.

At the White House briefing on the crisis Wednesday, with Fauci standing nearby, Trump said, "He doesn't need security. Everybody loves him. Besides that, they'd be in big trouble if they ever attacked him."

The security threat assessmen... (Read more)

Latest News