Right wing conspiracy theorist Robert David Steele passed away following complications from Covid-19, which he continued to deny was real until the bitter end.
A former CIA agent, Steele was hospitalized in Florida while on tour with Arise USA, a bus tour he used to share various far-right conspiracy theories regarding the pandemic, as well as the 2020 election.
Steele posted about his hospitalization on his Public Intelligence Blog on August 17, where he admitted to testing positive for Covid-19, despite denying its existence. He confirmed he had not and would not take the vaccine, predicting he would make a full recovery.
"I will not take the vaccination, though I did test positive for whatever they're calling 'COVID' today, but the bottom line is that my lungs are not functioning."
"The good news is that I will survive with a few days off. I should be back up and at least functional soon."
"We will never be the same because now we know that we've all been lied to about everything."
Steele's death was confirmed by longtime supporter and outspoken anti-vaxxer Mark Tassi in a video posted to Instagram.
Not surprisingly, Tassi did not believe Steele was one of the many unvaccinated who succumbed to the deadly virus. He called the timing of Steele's death "suspicious" in the video.
Tassi went on to say he believed Steele was killed by hospital staff, which he claimed was a subversive attack on Florida Republican Governor Rob DeSantis. The GOP governor has been vocally opposed to mask and vaccine mandates in schools and businesses.
"They're trying to make DeSantis look bad."
"Why? Because DeSantis is not going along with the agenda."
Tassi also admitted in the video he encouraged Steele not to take any drugs on the "protocol", falsely claiming they were killing people.
Tassi also claimed Steele was "forced" onto a ventilator and denied hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug touted by former President Donald Trump as a viable treatment for Covid-19 despite no scientific or medical evidence.
Other claims made by Tassi in the rambling video, included HIV doesn't exist and Dr. Anthony Fauci is a front man for a "satanic cult", eventually calling him "the devil."
Denying Covid-19's existence was far from the most outrageous or shocking claim Robert David Steele ever made.
A frequent guest on the radio show of fellow far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Steele once claimed on Jones' program NASA kidnapped children in order to populate a slave colony on Mars.
Of course, Steele was best known for being one of the earliest and most outspoken supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory, claiming cannibalistic pedophiles were conspiring against Donald Trump during his presidency.
Steele proudly declared he was the first person to call Covid-19 a hoax, documented in ViceTV's three-part docu-series QAnon: The Search for Q.
One of the series' producers, Jack Bryan, made it clear he did not mourn Steele's passing, nor was he at all surprised he succumbed to Covid-19 in two biting Twitter posts.
Qanon pusher Robert David Steele has apparently died from Covid. When we interviewed him for the @vice show Qanon: the search for Q he refused to wear a mask and claimed he was the first person to call covid a hoax. So folks wear a mask and get vaccinated, crazy won\u2019t protect you— Jack Bryan (@Jack Bryan) 1630280094
And for clarification, Robert David Steele led the charge on anti vaccine/covid denialism, and I believe he is therefore likely responsible for more American deaths than say Osama Bin Laden, so no I\u2019m not saying this is sad news.— Jack Bryan (@Jack Bryan) 1630298981
"When we interviewed him for the @vice show QAnon: the search for Q, he refused to wear a mask and claimed he was the first person to call covid a hoax."
"So folks, wear a mask and get vaccinated, crazy won't protect you."
"And for clarification, Robert David Steele led the charge on anti vaccine/covid denialism, and I believe he is therefor likely responsible for more American deaths than say Osama Bin Laden, so no I'm not saying this is sad news."
Indeed, no doubt owing to his history of outrageous, far-right conspiracy claims, there was a significant lack of mourning in regards to Steele's passing on Twitter.
Well Desantis will have to report at least one death today in Florida.— Fievel13\ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\udff4 (@Fievel13\ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\udff4) 1630278071
Good riddance— Rip Holmes (@Rip Holmes) 1630281204
Robert David Steele was a former CIA officer and frequent guest on Alex Jones, where he once claimed that NASA had a colony on Mars filled with child slaves (in addition to 9/11 and Sandy Hook conspiracies).\n\nHe also, of course, claimed COVID was a hoax before...dying of COVID.https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1432347511662972929\u00a0\u2026— Amarnath Amarasingam (@Amarnath Amarasingam) 1630334005
He won\u2019t be missed— andi | John Lewis Voting Rights Act \ud83d\udc15\ud83d\udef9 (@andi | John Lewis Voting Rights Act \ud83d\udc15\ud83d\udef9) 1630289988
The world is a better place for his passing.— Not Actually Odo (@Not Actually Odo) 1630334313
I fail to see how this is a bad thing. \n\nI mean everyone can see and hear this freight train coming. He chose to stay on the track. \n\nWe are all better off without him, and sad to say, maybe his family is better off without a denier as well.— Peter Sake (@Peter Sake) 1630298446
If you think that you\u2019re better off with animal deworming meds and that the hospital workers might conspire to kill you, please stay home with your ivermectin and leave the hospital beds for people who don\u2019t fear and loathe doctors.— Debatably Blonde (@Debatably Blonde) 1630279205
Steele's death came almost directly on the heels of the death of Marc Bernier, a far-right Florida radio host who proudly dubbed himself "Mr. Anti-Vax", who similarly died from Covid-19 after vowing never to get vaccinated.
While these two almost simultaneous deaths would seem enough to scare anybody who hasn't to get vaccinated, one can never underestimate conspiracy theorists.
Steele's followers are already coming up with all sorts of ludicrous claims as to what actually killed him, including a possible "5G Radiation attack."
One can only imagine there will be plenty more to come.
