The leader of a self-declared “church” that claims to have a “miracle cure” to eradicate 95 per cent of illnesses, including Covid-19, reportedly wrote to Donald Trump days before the president appeared to suggest that disinfectant could be used to cure coronavirus.

Mark Grenon, who identifies himself as the “archbishop” of a quasi-religious organisation called the Genesis II Church, said he wrote to the president to ask him to intervene with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to put his church’s products on a list of fraudulent coronavirus products.

In a “seminar” shared online on 20 April, Mr Grenon read a letter he wrote and dispatched to Mr Trump and said the FDA was “attacking” his church by listing ”Miracle Mineral Solution” (MMS) products — which he calls “sacraments” — as fraudulent. It is not known whether Mr Trump read the letter.

He said: “[The sacraments] are sacred and holy to us, and we use them to keep out temples clean. In doing so, we’ve helped millions around the world. We have a lot of testimonies and evidence. It seems if you mention anything can rid the body of Covid-19 is not approved by the FDA, you get attacked.

“Well, Mr President, they attacked the wrong church, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ,” he added.

A few days later, Mr Trump stirred controversy when he repeatedly suggested disinfectant could be injected to cure coronavirus patients and claimed sunlight could kill the virus.

He said during his daily Covid-19 briefing: “I see the disinfectant that knocks [the virus] out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning.

“You see, it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number, so it would be interesting to check that,” he added. “We’re going to have to use medical doctors, but it seems interesting to me.”

Mr Grenon reacted to news of the president’s suggestion on Facebook by sharing a video and adding: “Trump has got the MMS and all the info!!! Things are happening folks! Lord help others to see the Truth!”

Loading....

In his letter, Mr Grenon warned the president that if the church’s products, which contain chlorine dioxide, continued to be attacked, Mr Trump would “lose your election that I want you to win” as “churches will not tolerate their religious rights taken away”.

He also implored the president to “get rid of Dr [Antony] Fauci and [Bill] Gates’ influence in your administration”.

Earlier this month, the FDA issued a warning letter to Mr Grenon, who runs the Genesis 2 Church, to stop selling its chlorine dioxide products marketed as “Miracle Mineral Solution” or MMS for the prevention and treatment of Covid-19.

The US Justice Department then announced last week that it filed a temporary injunction halting the sales of Genesis 2 Church’s MMS product.

How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Show all 6 1 /6 How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Milan, Italy REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities North Jakarta, Indonesia REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Jakarta, Indonesia REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Venice, Italy REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities New Delhi, India REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Islamabad, Pakistan REUTERS

In a statement, assistant attorney general Jody Hunt said: “The Department of Justice will take swift action to protect consumers from illegal and potentially harmful products being offered to treat Covid-19. We will continue to work closely alongside our partners at the FDA to quickly shut down those selling illegal products during this pandemic.”

FDA Commissioner Stephen M Hahn said: “Despite a previous warning, the Genesis 2 Church of Healing has continued to actively place consumers at risk by peddling potentially dangerous and unapproved chlorine dioxide products.

“We will not stand for this, and the FDA remains fully committed to taking strong enforcement action against any sellers who place unsuspecting American consumers at risk by offering their unproven products to treat serious diseases.”