Michael Caputo, the top Department of Health and Human Service spokesperson, is going on a two-month leave of absence after making a social media video that accused government scientists of "sedition," CNN reports.
In the private Facebook Live video, Caputo referred to a number of conspiracy theories, it adds. He, for instance, accused government scientists of forming a "resistance unit" at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and predicted there would be violence following the upcoming US presidential election, as ABC News reports. "These people cannot, cannot allow America to get better. Nor can they allow America to hear good news. It must be all bad news from now until the election. Frankly, ladies and gentlemen, that's sedition," Caputo said in his video, according to CNN.
HHS has announced that Caputo will now be taking a two-month leave of absence and that Paul Alexander, an advisor to Caputo, will also be leaving the department. ABC News notes that both Caputo and Alexander have reportedly pressured the CDC to make changes to scientific reports.