Fact Check: Did Anthony Fauci spend $650K on private security to enter and leave Washington?

WASHINGTON, DC: Following the tense Senate hearing of Dr Anthony Fauci, where he repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment while facing questions about the origins of Covid-19, a rumor began circulating on social media platforms claiming that he paid  $650,000 on security to get in and out of Washington.

Let us investigate and fact-check the claim.

Claim: Anthony Fauci paid $650,000 on security to get in and out of Washington

According to a viral post that surfaced on X, Fauci had to shell out $650,000 of his own money for private security to safely enter and leave Washington, as thirty-four countries currently have active bounties on his capture. 

The post claims that Fauci avoided being added to the FBI's Most Wanted list because he received a last-minute presidential pardon signed with an autopen.

It also says that President Donald Trump denied Fauci Secret Service protection after he left office, requiring him to pay all his personal security costs.

The post ends by depicting Fauci as living in fear due to the outcomes of his actions during the Covid-19 pandemic, suggesting that a presidential pardon does not protect him from those outcomes.  

Fact Check: No credible evidence to support the claim

The claim, however, is false, as there is no evidence of the former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director spending on security to enter and get out of Washington. 

The claim that thirty-four countries currently have active bounties on his capture is also not supported by facts.

A search on Google for the claim yielded no relevant results from prominent news media outlets, which, if true, would not go unreported, given his recent Senate hearing.

Also, the account that posted the claim is not credible, and though not explicitly a parody account, the handle has posted several such exaggerated and unverified claims.

Anthony Fauci invoked Fifth Amendment at the hearing

The claim surfaced after the Senate hearing on July 29, 2026, during which Fauci repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment while facing intense questioning from Republican senators led by Rand Paul.

The hearing was centered around the allegations that Fauci misled Congress about COVID-19's origins, government-funded research, pandemic policies, and federal recordkeeping, during which he denied wrongdoing and argued that the investigation is designed to support efforts to prosecute him. 

Fauci has consistently denied funding research that caused the pandemic or misleading Congress, asserting that the scientific evidence available at the time supported a natural-origin hypothesis while remaining open to further investigation.