Nashville prosecutor recommends federal inquiry into the dog muzzle received by Tennessee’s ousted vaccine chief

There’s no evidence that Tennessee’s fired vaccine chief purchased the dog muzzle that was sent to her amid heated controversy last year, according to a memo from the Nashville District Attorney’s office.

Over the summer, Dr. Michelle Fiscus was fired from the Tennessee Department of Health. The commissioner, Dr. Lisa Piercey, claimed the firing was due to job performance, but Fiscus said it was political.

Lawmakers had been upset about an information campaign about vaccinating teenagers, as well as an opinion she issued that confirmed, under state law, teens could be vaccinated in some circumstances without parental consent.

Fiscus revealed that in the weeks before she was fired, someone sent a muzzle to her office. It was purchased with a credit card in her name, but the new report finds that it was likely the result of fraudulent activity. Fiscus’ personal information had been compromised. She cancelled an American Express card in May of 2020, but charges continued to go through more than a year later.

In the report, the district attorney’s office notes that it’s too soon to tell whether the muzzle was meant to be a political statement, but says the events appear “too coincidental to be random” — and recommends further investigation by federal authorities.