LGBT+ Democratic candidate lied about helping Pulse victims
A memorial to the victims of the Pulse shooting. (Getty)
Elizabeth McCarthy, an out Democratic Party politician, has admitted she lied about treating victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting.
McCarthy claimed that she was working as a cardiologist at the Orlando Regional Medical Centre (ORMC) on June 12, 2016, when a terrorist killed 49 and wounded 53 at the LGBT+ nightclub.
“Yes, I was working that night,” she said, according to Florida Politics.
“I removed 77 bullets out of 32 people, and helped with the triage.”
Florida candidate’s Pulse claims investigated
A journalist with the website first questioned McCarthy’s credentials on June 15, three days after the third anniversary of the shooting.
They reported that while McCarthy had been registered as a nurse until 2005, when her license expired, there was no evidence that she had ever become a doctor.
Elizabeth McCarthy claimed she had helped save victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. (Facebook)
As well as this, neither ORMC nor the Florida Heart Group–which she also claimed to work for–had any record of her employment.
At the time McCarthy was running for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives, a race she withdrew from on June 28 “due to professional obligations.”
I wanted to be somebody in the community.
The story sparked an investigation by the Florida Department of Health, which ultimately revealed that McCarthy had lied about her involvement in the shooting, which was at the time the worst in US history.
Elizabeth McCarthy admits to lying about Pulse
“I lied,” McCarthy told investigators, according to a charging affidavit obtained by Florida Politics on Wednesday (July 17)
“It is a false statement. I just made it up.
“I wanted to be somebody in the community, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I gave any impersonation. I knew it was wrong and I should have stopped — by no means did I ever mean to put anybody in jeopardy.”
According to Florida Politics, McCarthy was a registered nurse until 2005, when her license expired.
“It does not look like she was ever a licensed doctor, but she does have a background in health care,” Department of Health spokesman Brad Dalton told the website.
McCarthy was reportedly charged with violating the state’s unlicensed activity laws, and could face a fine of $1,000 plus costs. The department is also said to have served her with a cease and desist order, blocking her from telling anybody else that she is a doctor.
