Prominent antivax doctor with New Zealand links dies after claiming he was poisoned

A controversial American doctor who lived in New Zealand has died after claiming he was intentionally poisoned for his views on the pandemic.

Dr Rashid Buttar, an osteopath, was a prominent promoter of conspiracy theories about Covid-19 and vaccines. He died last weekend aged 57.

Buttar was a permanent New Zealand resident who lived in the small, beachside community of Tutukaka in Northland. He returned to his home state of North Carolina in 2020 shortly before the New Zealand borders were closed. He died in the US.

He was one of the earliest public figures to make conspiratorial claims about the coronavirus, which proved to be lucrative: some of his early videos drew millions of views. He made sweeping claims about the origins of the coronavirus, including that it was an engineered bioweapon released as a “false flag”.

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His online fame led to him being named one of the so-called “Disinformation Dozen”, a group of influencers said to be producing the majority of false information about the pandemic.

Buttar’s sudden death has predictably prompted suspicion from both supporters and critics.

Earlier this year, after a several-month hiatus, Buttar said he had been admitted to intensive care with heart issues – either myocarditis or pericarditis.

He said the symptoms were consistent with being vaccinated against Covid-19 – heart issues are a known but rare side effect of several coronavirus vaccines, primarily in young men – but because he was unvaccinated, he blamed vaccinated people “shedding” onto him.

(Numerous doctors and scientists have said no biological mechanism would produce “shedding” for mRNA Covid-19 vaccines because they don’t contain a live virus or produce spike protein in sufficient quantities).

Last week, just days before his death, Buttar claimed to have been intentionally poisoned after an appearance on CNN in 2021.

“I had been poisoned with 200 times the amount of what’s in the vaccinations,” he said.

“And I’ve said publicly, you know, you’d have to shoot me in the head with [a bullet] because I’m never going to take the vaccine. So I was actually intentionally poisoned. And part of it was, I believe, right after that CNN interview.”

Some of Buttar’s friends and supporters have suggested foul play, tapping into a conspiracy theory that prominent advocates for “medical freedom” are being killed by sinister forces.

Others have observed his symptoms are well-documented side effects of Covid-19, which could have caused his death. No official cause has been released.

In a tribute to Buttar, former political candidate Billy Te Kahika, with whom he had a friendship, said his death was a “complete shock”.

Before the pandemic, Buttar was known for using “chelation therapy” – a medical treatment for heavy metal poisoning – to treat cancer patients and children with autism. He was a prominent promoter of debunked claims linking vaccines to autism.

He was twice subject to disciplinary action by medical officials: once in 2010 for providing expensive and ineffective treatments to cancer patients, and again in 2019 for unprofessional conduct.