by Cheryl Clark
The Medical Board of California last week vacated its disciplinary action against America's Frontline Doctors (AFLDS) founder Simone Gold, MD, JD, attributing its apparent reversal to "good cause having been shown."
In early 2023, the board had accused Gold of unprofessional conduct related to her actions during the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Gold served 2 months in a Miami prison on a federal trespassing charge related to those actions.
The board eventually finalized its disciplinary action with a public reprimand. But this January, Gold and nearly 1,600 others involved in the Capitol riot were issued a full and unconditional pardon by President Donald Trump on his first day in office.
Gold posted on July 25 on X: "Breaking: The California Medical Board just VACATED its disciplinary decision against me. This politically motivated case was never about medical ethics -- it was about silencing physicians who dared to speak the truth. I refused to bow. I fought back. And won."
She posted two medical board documents with her post. Neither is available on her board profile page, nor are the licensing agency's accusation and decision.
However, the board confirmed to MedPage Today that the decision was vacated and removed from Gold's profile following a court ruling to do so that had come in response to a lawsuit filed by Gold.
Gold had aggressively fought the board's accusation. Her lawsuit against the agency protested its claims, referring to "government overreach." She said that in her attempt to deliver a speech at the U.S. Capitol against COVID lockdowns and vaccine mandates, she "broke no doors or windows, she assaulted no one, she did not throw any object or otherwise endanger any person."
She said she pled guilty to misdemeanor trespass, one of five federal charges, to avoid the costs and time that litigation would entail. The remaining charges were dropped.
The federal judge in the insurrection case ordered her to pay a $9,500 federal fine.
When Gold got out of prison, she was soon faced with accusations from AFLDS officials that she had used the organization's funds to buy a $3.6 million home in Florida and 3 cars, including a Mercedes-Benz and a GMC Denali, for personal use. A lawsuit filed by the chair of the AFLDS board at the time and its COO Joseph Gilbert and his affiliated Free Speech Foundation alleged that Gold had relinquished her control of AFLDS to devote time to "open health and wellness centers nationwide," i.e., her telemedicine company GoldCare.
Gold denied any improper use of those funds.
In December 2022, a federal judge dismissed that case citing lack of jurisdiction. According to a report in the Washington Post, U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell determined the group's "most significant business operation is the creation of social media content" and questioned the location of the group's business. The judge determined that the group's descriptions of its purpose were "vague," leaving the Court "short of being able to define its 'nerve center.'"
Gold, who was trained as an emergency physician and practiced for a time in Southern California, reportedly now lives near Naples, Florida.
She posted on X earlier this month that she has filed a petition with the FDA demanding that hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin be made available over-the-counter to treat illnesses such as COVID-19. She has long maintained their value in treating COVID-19, despite the lack of evidence the drugs are effective against that infection.
https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/116721
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