Doctor was not kicked out for speaking about ivermectin at Sarasota hospital board meeting
SARASOTA, Fla. (FLV) – An Epoch Times contributor “mischaracterized” an incident where a doctor was removed from a Sarasota Memorial Hospital board meeting Tuesday, according to a spokesperson for the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System.
A video posted on Twitter by Epoch Times contributor and journalist Chris Nelson depicted Dr. John Littell being removed from the venue with the caption, “BREAKING! Dr. John Littell KICKED OUT of Sarasota Memorial Hospital Board Meeting after testifying to the effectiveness of Ivermectin to treat Covid-19!”
“The Epoch Times [Nelson] mischaracterized what occurred,” said Kim Savage, public relations manager at Sarasota Memorial Health Care System.
Ivermectin is a drug that can be used to treat COVID-19. Dr. John Littell, a 25-year board-certified family physician and Veteran, spoke at the meeting.
Nelson’s tweet went viral with over 1.7 million views. It received over 1,000 quote tweets and more than 1,000 replies filled with observers concerned that the board did not listen to the doctor’s remarks, or that it used a “heavy handed approach” to silence “dissent.”
The spokeswoman for the health care system said the doctor left his seat in the audience and approached a hospital board member while the board was actively discussing and preparing to vote on the matter at hand.
“His behavior presented a safety risk and violated a clearly set rule of decorum for the public meeting. His actions occurred in the final minutes of the meeting, long after he and other attendees videotaping his demonstration had the chance to share their concerns during the public comment session of the board meeting,” said Savage.
In the video, Dr. Littell was seen giving a speech at timestamp 3:11:50, to which he continued speaking even after being told he went over his allotted time.
According to the board agenda, public comments were limited to three minutes per person.
Dr. Littell was not removed during his speech. Later in the meeting after his speech, Dr. Littell is seen approaching a board member at approximately 3:56:00.
The video depicted a police officer or security guard approaching Dr. Littell, and using hand gestures pointing away from the board members.
In a subtweet following the event, Nelson said that Little “walked up to a board member to thank her for what she said. That’s what triggered it I think.”
“I never said Dr Littell was kicked out for taking about Ivermectin. And I provided a ten minute interview with full context,” Nelson said on Twitter.
Some users only saw the viral tweet, and not Nelson’s clarification, though, leading them to believe the doctor was kicked out for his speech on ivermectin.
“This is how ‘freedom of expression’ is protected in Western countries- police remove a Doctor from a hospital board meeting. #WeAreLivingALie,” one user said.
“Another expert Doctor to censor, silence and ignore ? Get yourself some Ivermectin and ignore the fools who mock you,” another said.
In a post-meeting interview, Dr. Littell admitted he violated protocol by approaching the board member.
“What happened just now was that there’s a wonderful board member who I just met for the first time, I went up to her after the meeting, or thought it was near the end of the meeting, and asked if there was any chance I could say something more, because I had been cut short,” Dr. Littell said.
“I violated protocol. I have to confess, I have not ever been at a hospital board meeting – ever […] I thought I could walk up and just say thank you,” he said.
Florida’s Voice reached out to the Epoch Times for comment and will update this story if a response is received.
