An Army video of tanks headed to D.C. for a June 14 parade appears to show 'hang Fauci and Bill Gates' graffiti. (U.S. Army)
A video shared Saturday by the U.S. Army of tanks being transported to the nation’s capital for the Army’s upcoming 250th birthday parade showed one loaded on a flatcar with graffiti that appeared to read: “Hang Fauci & Bill Gates.”
The graffiti appeared on screen for only a few seconds in the 58-second video, shared to the Army’s X account and up for more than 24 hours, garnering more that 700,000 views. The Army removed it Sunday evening after inquires from The Washington Post.
“That statement does not align with Army values,” said Steve Warren, an Army spokesperson.
The U.S. Army account has 2 million followers. The video depicted military vehicles being loaded in Texas to travel to D.C. by rail for the June 14 parade.
Warren said that he was not aware of the graffiti until reached for comment and added that he does not believe the flatcar in the video is owned by the Army.
In the video, the flatcar was initialed with “DODX,” resembling those included in an Army equipment document. A Department of Defense spokesperson did not respond to an email requesting comment Sunday evening.
It was not clear who was responsible for the graffiti, whether they have any connection to the Army and when the words were written.
Both billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Anthony S. Fauci, one of the country’s top infectious-disease doctors, have been targets of conspiracy theories and falsehoods throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Gates has spent years trying to address health threats vexing the developing world, such as malaria, polio and HIV, and was subject to false accusations including that he had engineered the pandemic and used it to institute population surveillance.
Fauci — who formerly led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases — has told Congress that he has received “credible death threats” stemming from his time overseeing the nation’s fight against the pandemic. In his final hours in office, President Joe Biden issued a preemptive pardon to Fauci, among other people, saying he feared they would be targeted for political reasons by the Trump administration.
Fauci has faced years of investigation by congressional Republicans, who allege that the longtime civil servant was not forthcoming about the possible origins of the pandemic.
On Saturday, 28 M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks will roll through the heart of the nation’s capital, alongside thousands of marching soldiers and more than 100 other military vehicles in the multimillion-dollar parade, which is also taking place on President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.
The route runs along Constitution Avenue NW, beginning at 23rd Street near the Lincoln Memorial and finishing about a mile down the road, at 15th Street near the Washington Monument. The birthday festivities include a day-long festival on the National Mall with fireworks, musical performances and a parachute jump by the Army’s Golden Knights, who will present an American flag to Trump.
