Tomorrow, June 27, 2022, Clallam naturopathic physician and author Rick Marschall is due to report for 8 months in jail at the Federal Detention Center in Sheridan, Oregon, after being entrapped in an FDA sting operation. His crime: selling garlic extracts to help COVID-19 patients.
The title of Marschall’s self-published book on Amazon best sums up his philosophy as a naturopathic physician: First Do No Harm. He graduated from Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington with a license to prescribe anything except opiates. But his focus during his thirty-six years of practice in Clallam County has been on plant-based solutions.
The “Misbranded Drug”: Garlic and Starch
When COVID-19 rolled around, the United States government did not agree with his approach. In the spring of 2020, Marschall says he was having success with a Dynamic Duo product of allicin and larch starch powder for treating this virus.
Allicin is an extract of garlic that serves as an antiviral agent and does not harm good bacteria. The starch, called inuloarabinogalactan (IAG), is a powder from the bark of a larch tree that increases the number of white blood cells available to the immune system.
His book states, “One reason this treatment works so well for COVID-19, a more sophisticated and bioengineered virus, is that this high potency extract of garlic helps to repair damage to the hemoglobin molecule, and it reduces blood clots in the lungs.”
A year later, the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed this with an article on its web site. Study results “showed that allicin (L-cysteine) could significantly impact on improvement of signs and symptoms of COVID-19 after two weeks of treatment in comparison to placebo.”
The Sting Operation
Nevertheless, according to court documents, on March 26, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI) initiated an investigation after receiving complaints “regarding Facebook postings by Marschall and others” about his Dynamic Duo product for treating COVID-19.
On March 30, 2020, an undercover agent for the FDA-OCI texted Marschall that she was “scared about the corona virus so I would like to hear about this product.” The court documents show the two then had a recorded phone conversation in which Marschall said, “Unfortunately, because everybody wants this stuff, you know there’s a bit of a wait.”
The following day, Marshall called and “indicated that the Dynamic Duo was now available.” The undercover agent provided credit card information for the purchase of the product for $140 plus $9.50 for shipping.
On April 2, 2020, by way of the United State Post Office, the product was received in Oakland, California. The undercover agent then mailed the package to the FDA-OCI office in Kirkland, Washington, where they examined the package.
Court documents reveal that the package included a document that stated that the Dynamic Duo “can crush 30 different viral infections, including those in the Corona family, (like in China Corona-19), 40 different bacterial infections, 25 different fungal infections and 20 different parasitic infections like amoebas.”
The special agent concluded in the court document that Marschall “did knowingly and intentionally introduce, deliver, and cause the introduction and delivery for introduction into interstate commerce, drugs, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 331(a) and 333(a)(2).”
“Because I am a health coach, it would have been okay for me to deliver the product anywhere within state lines,” Marschall said. “My delivery outside of the state would have been okay had I not used a claim or purpose of the product notice. They picked on me to scare people. It doesn’t get any crazier than this.”
The Mistrial
The case was then filed against Marschall in the Federal Western District Court in Tacoma on August 5, 2020. Court documents show he was indicted under 21 U.S.C. 331(a), which prohibits the “introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of any … drug … that is adulterated or misbranded.”
Marschall said he first received an e-mail from the government and then a letter concerning the case against him. “They could have just sent me a warning letter,” Marschall said. “For example, with a mushroom company that does the same type of thing that I do, the government told them to stop doing it, or else they would shut them down.”
Court document 299 in this case reveals that United States District Court Judge Benjamin H. Settle made the following statement: “While the Food and Drug Administration has discretion to warn or notify individuals or entities it believes are violating FDA regulations, the government is not required to provide individual notice or an opportunity to cease his (Marschall’s) unlawful activity before charging him.”
After a year of proceedings, on August 9, 2021, court documents show that the “jury foreperson declared that the jury is unable to reach a verdict. The jury was polled individually, and all members agree. The Court declares a mistrial.”
After the trial, Marschall says that the judge waived the law shielding jurors from scrutiny and allowed prosecutors to discuss the case with the jurors. As far as Marschall was concerned, this was rare, constitutionally unlawful decision to allow prosecutors to determine the weak points in their case.
Retrial and Conviction
Another trial was carried out in late October. Court documents show that on October 22, 2021 the jury reached the following verdict: “As to the charge of Introduction of Misbranded Drugs into Interstate Commerce, as charged in Count One, we, the Jury, find the Defendant, Richard Marschall guilty.”
Marschall points to the following two injustices during the trial that led to his conviction:
- The judge ordered the jury not to consider any argument relying on the First Amendment’s freedom of speech.
- The judge instructed the jurors not to consider the direct testimony given by a Bastyr University naturopathic professor.
The judge sentenced Marschall to eight months of imprisonment at the Federal Detention Center in Sheridan, Oregon. Judge Settle checked off the following box in his sentencing statement: “The defendant shall surrender for service of sentence at the institution designated by the Bureau of Prisons as notified by the Probation or Pretrial Services Office.”
On May 24, 2022, the judge issued the following: “It is now ordered that the date by which Mr. Marschall must report to FCI Sheridan is extended from May 26, 2022 to no sooner than June 27, 2022.”
Even though this is Marschall’s third conviction in Federal court under the same statute and he had his credential to practice as a naturopathic physician permanently revoked by the state of Washington on October 9, 2018, he remains committed to providing allicin and IAG powder to his COVID-19 patients.
Community Response
Marschall has been active in local health freedom pushback since the lockdowns started, so many friends and well-wishers have been outraged by these injustice proceedings against him. A GiveSendGo campaign was started to help his wife pay bills during his imprisonment.
On June 18, Marschall was lured to the 7th Day Adventist Church in Sequim for a fake “special Vegan Cooking workshop” so the community could instead celebrate him with a surprise 70th birthday party.
Letters of support were sent to the 9th District Court asking for a bond to keep Marschall out of prison. Here’s one from Stephen Schumacher:
Regarding Case# CR20-5270 BHS of the FDA vs. Rick Marschall, please strongly consider expediting a bond to Mr. Marschall so he can stay out of prison until his case is heard on appeal.
As seen in court documents, this is a very troubling case of an undercover sting operation directed against sharing information about a nutritional supplement that anyone can buy on Amazon and has been found to help with Covid-19.
Mr. Marschall is a senior citizen who has caused no harm and is not a danger to anyone; in fact, his supposed crime was trying to help others with treatment options. It is a cruel waste of taxpayer money to incarcerate him prior to appeal.
Please expedite this request before Mr. Marschall must report to FCI Sheridan on June 27.
The FDA’s expensive, multiyear persecution of Marschall for selling garlic is reminiscent of the merciless pursuit of Jean Valjean for stealing a loaf of bread to feed starving children.
Even as it winks at or is complicit in widescale Big Pharma fraud crimes amid mountains of “smoking gun” evidence, the FDA has spared no taxpayer expense over the decades to prosecute naturopaths and alternative health practitioners who have infringed on its monopoly turf. Marschall is the latest victim.
Port Townsend resident Gerald Braude is a full-time classical/jazz guitarist. Between gigs, he writes manuscript reviews for iUniverse Publishing. He is the author of two books of poems, "Hurricane Dreams" in 2020 and "Blues and Beyond" in 2014. "Nebo: A Literary Journal" has also published his poems. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Michigan State University and a guitar performance diploma from Musician's Institute in Hollywood, California.
Court documents reveal that the package included a document that stated that the Dynamic Duo “can crush 30 different viral infections, including those in the Corona family, (like in China Corona-19), 40 different bacterial infections, 25 different fungal infections and 20 different parasitic infections like amoebas.” This quote is from the above article.
This stands in comparison to President Biden, Dr. R Walensky, and Dr. Anthony Fauci stating in 2021 that the vaccine was “safe and effective” and that you won’t catch the virus or transmit it once you are injected. It also stands against the fact that with every injection the side effects were never told to the patient nor was there a sheet with the vials that stated all of the side effects. Now there are almost 30,000 deaths from the vaccine according to Vaers as well as 240,000 serious side effects. So how many deaths and serious side effects were connected to the “Dynamic Duo”??? Moreover, who should really be in jail?
He broke the law, made false claims, and so he’s guilty ?
End of story.
Meanwhile, the promoters of useless Remdesivir go free. What BS!
This is just maddening. What a huge injustice. People sell, meth, fentanyl, and oxycontin, and hardly get a slap on the wrist, but try offering something potentially healthy and the government comes after you with a vengeance?? Wut?
Sheesh, my grandma would grind up onions and garlic to put on your chest if you got sick. She learned it from her grandma. Even I myself take garlic during flu season. In my family we take a can of chicken soup, crush 3 cloves of garlic in it, and call it “Italian penicillin.”
Nope, that’s the beginning of the story. That’s the myth liberals tell about the rule of law in Washington state. But it’s only applied by them on people they consider political enemies. If you’re wondering about some perfect examples how about…
All the slaps on the wrists given to illegally financially incestuous liberal nonprofit$, who hide behind “climate change” for their own profit. Plenty of these nonprofits make claims about “wellness”, which are without scientific documentation. No one ever takes them to task on their claims.
All the false claims made about cannabis before full legalization, and those claims did not send anyone to jail, let alone prison.
All the businesses in this area who make claims about their services, including statements presented as fact which are nothing more than liberal opinion and pipedreams. The chiropractors, the other naturopaths, the massage therapists, the meditation teachers, the yoga studios, all of those people are making all kinds of wild claims, both publicly and privately. The FBI never bothers with them.
The false claims being made by people who are working to decriminalize psilocybin within the city limits. Is the FBI scouring their Facebook pages? I doubt it. The hypocrisy is revolting.
So, yeah. Rule of law argument. Try again.
You hit the nail on the head
You seem triggered.
The guy is a fraud, peddling snake oil.
Deserves to be in jail.
If you cant understand that, I cant help you, nor do I carw to.
We seem triggered? You’re over here crying for attention amongst people who can clearly see that laws are not applied equally in this state. If you’re not capable of discerning nuances, you’re in the wrong place. You are the one who is so triggered you’re over here begging for attention. We adults are discussing topics which are apparently beyond your ability to perceive.