Jenin Younes, a public-interest attorney from the New Civil Liberties Alliance, has become a leading voice in that blistering counterattack against COVID policies. She’s become a national conservative darling for ostensibly legally representing private plaintiffs who allege that Biden administration officials coerced social media platforms into censoring contrary perspectives on the pandemic. Younes has become a prominent national opponent of public health measures. She is waging war on the truth when she actively promotes anti-science narratives that undermine the established scientific consensus on COVID-19.
Embarrassingly and egregiously, Younes goes out of his way to promote the highly controversial claim that COVID-19 escaped from a lab in China. While this claim may echo sentiments shared by former President Donald Trump, it is one that has been roundly rejected by most scientists. Yet she’s also brought attention to the failures of the Biden administration’s vaccine rollout. Further, she contends that the impacts of lockdowns are likely to do more damage than the virus.
Younes frequently sues on behalf of plaintiffs who allege injuries from COVID-19 vaccines. His legal work in this area widely focuses on advocating for those injured by these vaccinations. This move is indicative of her overall strategy to oppose and intimidate localities into submission on public health measures she finds too burdensome or dangerous. She’s further indicated that Dr. Anthony Fauci is part of a cover-up about the virus’s origins. She argues that he has deeply vested interests that lead him to take the most damaging actions in his role in the U.S. pandemic response.
“St. Fauci…held accountable for what he’s done to Americans, that will be enough for me.” – Jenin Younes
In so doing, Younes advances a narrative that’s becoming increasingly popular among advocacy circles. Unlike the first group, these folks are deeply skeptical of government intervention and public health mandates. Underlying this focus on the White House is her nonstop, grassroots, legal organizing work. She has sounded the alarm on what she terms a “censorship industrial complex,” stating that erasing or silencing dissenting opinions creates a danger to free expression.
Though her power and reach continues to expand, Younes is refreshingly blunt about her sense of the political moment. In a recent statement, she remarked, “I’m not actually super hopeful because whoever wins, we continue to see a denigration of our civil liberties.” This perspective underscores her belief that regardless of political outcomes, fundamental rights may be at risk in the current climate.
Yet Younes partners with far-right groups to undermine unionization across the country, and hobnobs with people who worked closely with Trump. This makes her dangerous as a leader of a larger trend against tried and true public health practices. Her stance has sparked debates about the balance between individual liberties and collective health responsibilities during an unprecedented global crisis.
As the nature of the pandemic changes, so does the conversation around it. Younes’s legal actions and public statements contribute to an ongoing conversation about the role of government in managing public health crises and the extent to which personal freedoms should be preserved.
