The former Grafton pharmacist who sabotaged COVID-19 vaccines is a flat-Earther, took gun to work, FBI documents show

FBI documents show the Grafton pharmacist charged with trying to destroy COVID-19 vaccines not only believed the vaccine would harm people, but that the Earth is flat and the sky is a government shield to prevent people from seeing God. 

Steven Brandenburg, 46, worked the third shift at Aurora Medical Center hospital in Grafton on Dec. 24 and Dec. 25 when he left 57 vials — about 570 doses — of the Moderna vaccine out of the refrigerator, which he believed would ruin the doses.

But it is unclear that the vials were out long enough to do that. They were out of the refrigerator three hours the first night, and were then given to 57 people. The second time, the vials were outside the refrigerator about nine hours, according to court records, which also indicate that Moderna says the vaccine can be kept at room temperature about 12 hours without losing effectiveness. 

Brandenburg was charged with a state misdemeanor before agreeing last week to plead guilty to much more serious federal charges of attempting to tamper with a consumer product, for which he could be sentenced to up 10 years in prison. He is scheduled to enter the guilty pleas Feb. 9.

An FBI agent’s affidavit in support of a warrant to search Brandenburg’s phone, computer and thumb drive indicates he was not shy about his beliefs with coworkers, one of whom immediately suspected and reported him when she found the vaccines outside the refrigerator.

The coworker, a pharmacy technician, told investigators that after she had reported to a supervisor about the misplaced vaccines, Brandenburg kept hanging around her cubicle the next night, trying to “guilt trip her” about reporting her suspicions, noting that if he lost his job, he’d lose his kids.

Brandenburg was months into a contested divorce at the time.

She noted that Brandenburg had shown her a handgun at work before, and that she believed he may have worn it concealed at work on other occasions, based on how and where his clothing seemed bulky. She said he told her he kept the gun in case the military came to take him away, and that she was now worried he might become desperate or unhinged.

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The coworker told authorities that Brandenburg thought the vaccine was micro-chipped and would “turn off people’s birth control” and make others infertile. She said he had been voicing his theories for months at work to anyone who would listen, according to the search warrant, and would sometimes text his beliefs to her.

The coworker told investigators during an interview on Jan. 6 that Brandenburg was “very engaged in conspiracy theories,” including that the Earth is flat and that the sky is not real, but a shield put up by the government to prevent individuals from seeing God. 

Brandenburg first told authorities he had accidentally left the vaccines out, but later in a phone interview and in an email to his bosses with Advocate Aurora Health Systems admitted to leaving them out on purpose because he believed they were harmful. 

In the email, he also blamed the stress of his divorce and a lack of steady sleep, noting that he had taken clonazepam to help him sleep earlier on each of the days he left the vaccines out.

“Given that combination of circumstances, I was not thinking clearly and acted in a manner not befitting a professional,” Brandenburg wrote.

Brandenburg has been a licensed pharmacist since 1997. He was fired by Aurora after his admissions and then the Wisconsin Pharmacy Examining Board suspended his license in January.

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