“Before I came down with the virus, I was one of those jackasses who thought the virus would disappear the day after the election. I was one of those conspiracy theorists.”

Russell once thought the coronavirus wasn’t a real threat. He didn’t believe in masks. All that has changed.

Instead, he was in the hospital with COVID-19 a week after the election.

“All these people that are saying that it’s fake, blah blah blah, they’re lying to themselves,” he said.

“Before I came down with the virus, I was one of those jackasses who thought the virus would disappear the day after the election. I was one of those conspiracy theorists,” he said.

“COVID gave me a foggy memory, it gave me — I occasionally have speech problems.”

By Audrey Dutton