American Scientists See Prosecutions as Part of Federal Campaign Against Them By Katheryn Houghton and Arthur Allen July 22, 2026

https://kffhealthnews.org/public-health/american-scientists-virologist-charges-mpox-samples-rocky-mountain-laboratories/ HAMILTON, Mont. — The Trump administration has stepped up arrests and public condemnation of federal scientists studying viruses as the world faces one of its worst Ebola epidemics. Federal officials charged two virologists they stopped en route from an African disease outbreak with violating import rules. But scientists tell KFF Health News the inactivated samples they carried posed no threat to the public, and they characterize the arrests as part of a government harassment campaign.