A pharmacist in Wisconsin who ruined hundreds of coronavirus vaccines because he feared they would harm people also told investigators he believes Earth is flat, according to a new report.
Steven Brandenburg, 46, pleaded guilty last month to a pair of counts of “attempting to tamper with consumer products with reckless disregard for the risk that another person will be placed in danger of death or bodily injury” after prosecutors say he spoiled hundreds of the Moderna coronavirus vaccines.
An overnight pharmacist at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, Wis., Brandenburg told investigators he believes Earth is flat and that the sky is not real, according to The Washington Post.
The Post reported, citing court records, that Brandenburg told authorities the sky is a “shield put up by the government to prevent individuals from seeing God.”
Officials from the hospital initially said they believed a human error led to more than 50 vials of the Moderna vaccine being removed from a freezer that kept them viable.
Prosecutors eventually determined Brandenburg had removed the vials on Dec. 24 and 25, according to court documents.
“Brandenburg was very engaged in conspiracy theories,” a pharmacy technician reportedly told law enforcement.
Brandenburg’s license has been suspended, and he is due back in court on Feb. 9.
