A new federal report warns police around the US to be on the lookout for attacks against 5G infrastructure driven by the conspiracy theory that 5G causes the coronavirus.

"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," writes the US Department of Homeland Security in an intelligence report obtained by ABC News.

The publication reported that the warning was distributed to senior federal officials and law enforcement agencies around the country.

The myth – which is untrue – that there is a relationship between COVID-19 and 5G has driven conspiracy nuts in the UK and elsewhere to burn cell sites and harass 5G technicians.

And according to the DHS report, those nuts may be popping up in the US. The report cites a December 2019 attack on cell towers in Memphis, another in western Tennessee between February and April, and one in Portland in April.

And, as Light Reading noted, a local report from Lavallette, in Ocean County, New Jersey, tied a vandalized Verizon cell site with the myth that 5G causes COVID-19.

US officials have long fought against concerns that 5G causes health problems, which could have played a role in some of the recent attacks. However, the societal and financial upheaval sparked by the pandemic appears to have also linked COVID-19 with 5G, at least among some dumbasses.

— Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies, Light Reading | @mikeddano