Also, rigorous discussion and debate of both good and bad science is what science is all about! So if the authors were pre-publishing as a service to the wider community, essentially inviting fellow virologists and genetic specialists to critique their work for the benefit of all, shutting down discussion leans toward a crime against humanity. Whether or not their research has validity in some degree will never be discovered if the whole discussion is shut down just because some cannot even dare to entertain any idea that might label them as "conspiracy theorists."

There is a long history of bioweapons, and deployment onto citizens, so it's not really all that out-there to ponder it as a possibility. In fact it would be remiss not to, if we were interested in a thorogoing investigation.