Colombian officials arrested two Florida men who were wanted in the United States for illegally selling a chemical solution similar to pool cleaner through their church as a miracle cure for the coronavirus. Mark and Joseph Grenon, father and son, were arrested in Santa Marta where they were shipping their “Miracle Mineral Solution” to clients in the U.S., Colombia, Africa, and elsewhere.
Mark Grenon is the archbishop of the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing in Bradenton, FL. One of the beliefs it espouses is the use of toxic chemicals as a sacrament to cure all manner of illnesses and conditions —from cancer to autism, and now COVID-19. The Food and Drug Administration received reports of people being hospitalized and developing life-threatening health conditions after drinking the solution.
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The FDA analyzed the “Miracle Mineral Solution” and found that it contained chemicals commonly used in treating textiles, industrial water, and paper. At least seven Americans have died from using the substance; it is unclear if there have been any deaths from it in other countries.
But Grenon are part of a larger wanted party dispersing the deadly "cure." In April, the Food and Drug Administration issued an injunction against the church for marketing “Miracle Mineral Solution” as a cure for the virus. It was ignored. Federal agents responded by showing up to the church with search warrants, a federal order, and a hazmat team in July, reports CBS Miami. Inside, they found 50 gallons of muriatic acid, 22 gallons of the miracle solution, and 8,300 pounds of sodium chlorite. The same day, Mark Grenon and his three adult sons Jonathan, Jordan, and Joseph Grenon were charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to violate the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and criminal contempt.
According to court documents, a federal judge ordered all websites selling “Miracle Mineral Solution” to remove the product, and all supplies involved in making it are required to be confiscated and destroyed. Furthermore, the creation of future websites to market the product is prohibited. The church is also required to reach out to everyone who bought the chemical solution to notify them that the product was distributed unlawfully and is dangerous to ingest.
This also isn't the first time the family has peddled their concoction as a cure. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the Grenons marketed the solution as a treatment for preventing and curing Alzheimer’s disease, brain cancer, autism, HIV/AIDS, and multiple sclerosis. Investigators first discovered it being marketed as a coronavirus cure in March.
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In April, Mark Grenon wrote to President Donald Trump encouraging him to embrace the product as a solution for containing the virus, The Guardian revealed. MMS “can rid the body of COVID-19,” reads the letter. A few days later, Trump was now-famously quoted raising the idea of injecting disinfectant into the body as a cure for coronavirus. “Is there a way we can do something, by an injection inside or almost a cleaning?” said Trump. He later insisted he was being sarcastic.
Mark Grenon has since admitted to U.S. investigators that the church “has nothing to do with religion” and that it is solely to “legalize the use of MMS” and avoid “going to jail,” according to court documents filed in Florida. The Grenons were reportedly making around $120,000 a month selling the solution, a four-fold increase from previous sales prior to the pandemic.
“We will NOT be participating in any of your UNCONSTITUTIONAL Orders, Summons, etc.” an email from Mark Grenon to U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams. “Again and again I have written you all that...you have NO authority over our Church.”
If convicted of all charges, they all face at least 14 years in prison with the possibility of more than 17 years.
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