And the Anti-5G Attacks Spread to the US

Back in early April, I ran a story about attacks on 5G cellular infrastructure in the UK, setting fire to infrastructure and attacking workers who were laying so-called 5G cables.  Since the term 5G describes an over-the-air set of protocols, it may be terribly pedantic, but 5G doesn't exist in cables, just in radio signal over the air.  The cables carry data, just like a Godzillion other cables.  The attackers are attacking people for nothing.

I learned today that the Department of Homeland Security is issuing notices to the industry about attacks on cell towers and telecommunications workers by 5G/coronavirus conspiracy theorists. The DHS warned that there have already been "arson and physical attacks against cell towers in several US states," and warns that more may be coming.  They're advising the wireless infrastructure providers to pay more attention to securing their properties.

The preposterous claim that 5G can spread the coronavirus, either by suppressing the immune system or by directly transmitting the virus over radio waves, led to dozens of tower burnings in the UK and mainland Europe. Now, the DHS "is preparing to advise the US telecom industry on steps it can take to prevent attacks on 5G cell towers following a rash of incidents in Western Europe fueled by the false claim that the technology spreads the pathogen causing COVID-19," The Washington Post reported last week.

Did you catch that they talked about "directly transmitting the virus over radio waves?"  That's physically impossible.  If anyone believes that enough to go damage a cellular tower or hurt a worker, they should do themselves a favor and try to prove it.  If they can demonstrate that it's possible to transmit a virus by radio, they can win a Nobel prize in medicine and get themselves mentioned with greatest scientists of all time.  Plus, they'll never have to work another day in their lives. 

A telecom industry official said that carriers in the US "have seen sporadic attacks on their cell towers that were apparently prompted by COVID-19 disinformation" over the past few weeks, and the DHS said that attacks on cellular infrastructure date back to December of last year.

"since December 2019, unidentified actors conducted at least five arson incidents targeting cell towers in Memphis, Tenn., that resulted in more than $100,000 in damages... Additionally, 14 cell towers in western Tennessee, between February and April, were purposely turned off by way of disabling their electrical breakers."

Considering that 5G doesn't exist anywhere, yet; at least not in the form with millimeter wave systems that seem to cause the most fear, these attacks are particularly stupid.  At best, the widely deployed systems are 4-1/2 G.  The attackers aren't even close to their target.

The warning to law enforcement agencies said that an April 22 Facebook post "encouraged individuals associated with anarchist extremist ideology to commit acts of sabotage by attacking buildings and 5G towers around the world… in furtherance of an 'International Day of Sabotage'" and that videos have been posted online "showing people how to damage or destroy cell towers," according to ABC.

"Violent extremists have drawn from misinformation campaigns online that claim wireless infrastructure is deleterious to human health and helps spread COVID-19, resulting in a global effort by like-minded individuals to share operational guidance and justification for conducting attacks against 5G infrastructure, some of which have already prompted arson and physical attacks against cell towers in several US states," the DHS report said. The DHS report also warned of possible attacks against the electric grid.

The conspiracy theories also hold that the 5G radio waves suppress the immune system.  Again: 5G describes a system for using radio frequencies that have been in use widely for decades.  There is no known mechanism by which radio can suppress the immune system and no known evidence that it has ever happened.  The only linkage between 5G and Covid-19 is the coincidence of 5G starting to be talked about when the virus first got out into the population.

A reader sent me a link to this video about 5G that seems to be technically solid, just not covering everything I'd like to see covered.  On the other hand, if it was everything I'd like covered it would easily be a half hour long.