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Robert W Malone, MD@RWMaloneMD · Jun 3, 2026

Federal prosecutors just charged an NIH virologist with smuggling biological materials into the United States. His…

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Summary

An NIH virologist Vincent Munster was charged with smuggling biological materials (mpox, chickenpox, and human DNA vials) into the US from Congo. The case connects to the rejected DEFUSE proposal that involved gain-of-function research, raising questions about institutional oversight of dangerous pathogen research funded by US taxpayers.

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  1. #1

    Federal prosecutors just charged an NIH virologist with smuggling biological materials into the United States. His name is Vincent Munster. He's not a minor scientist. He runs the Virus Ecology Section at one of the government's premier BSL-4 labs. This is bigger than a customs charge. Thread 🧵

  2. #2

    Munster and colleague Claude Kwe returned from the Republic of Congo carrying a large case they told CBP contained diagnostic equipment. Inside: 113 vials in Styrofoam coolers. 17 contained deactivated mpox. 1 contained chickenpox. 2 contained human DNA. They face up to 5 years in prison.

  3. #3

    Why does Munster's name matter? In April 2024, Sen. Rand Paul released documents showing Rocky Mountain Laboratories — Munster's facility — was listed as a participant in EcoHealth Alliance's DEFUSE proposal. The same proposal DARPA rejected for posing unacceptable biosafety risks.

  4. #4

    DEFUSE contemplated experiments on novel bat coronaviruses, spike protein manipulation, and insertion of furin cleavage sites. DARPA said no. But NIAID kept funding the same research ecosystem — EcoHealth, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the same scientific objectives. Then COVID emerged in Wuhan.

  5. #5

    This is not a single bad actor. It's a pattern. Congressional investigations documented: missing records, withheld information, reporting violations, institutional obstruction, and gain-of-function mpox experiments nobody told the public about. Every time: officials said critics didn't understand the science.

  6. #6

    The trust problem: the public cannot inspect BSL-4 labs. Taxpayers don't sit on review committees. We are asked to trust that experts follow the rules. After EcoHealth. After DEFUSE. After COVID. After the mpox GOF controversy. After Munster — that trust is gone. The burden of proof has shifted.

  7. #7

    Ask What should happen now: → Permanent ban on taxpayer-funded GOF research, domestic or overseas → Terminate overseas pathogen collection programs → Replace institutional self-policing with independent oversight → Public disclosure of every grant, collaboration, and enhancement experiment

  8. #8

    I've written the full story — who Munster is, the DEFUSE connection, the mpox GOF controversy, and what this case means for the biodefense establishment. Read it here: malone.news/p/the-next-pan… If this matters to you, retweet tweet 1 at the top of this thread. The people who need to see this aren't looking for it.