By Matt Agorist
Decatur, IL — A kind and loving local chef woke up Tuesday morning to a dozen cops and health department officials raiding his home. Khemuel “Chef” Sanders had his business shut down, all of his equipment stolen by the state, and his life ruined because he made food in his home to give to the homeless.
Unfortunately, in the land of the free, it is against the law to help others or try to make a dollar without first paying the government for the privilege of doing so. While the state will claim this is for the safety of others who may consume the food, the reality is that it is a revenue generation scheme.
To be clear, Sanders is a licensed food handler. He paid the government for the privilege to handle food; however, he was doing it in a manner which they disapproved.
“I have my food handlers license. Expires at the end of this month. I was in a restaurant but the owner got in some trouble and shut everything down. It was out of my control that’s the only reason why I was cooking out of my home,” Sanders explained.
Instead of cooking the food in a restaurant, Sanders used the industrial equipment at his home. He cooked everything exactly the same way, but this now gave authorities a reason to steal his things, charge him exorbitant fees, and ruin his life.
The raid has left Sanders a broken man and in a Facebook post Wednesday night, we can see just how broken.
“I’m at the point I’m praying God please please take me,” Sanders wrote.
Below is a copy of the warrant police used to justify the raid. If it wasn’t real it would be comical. The warrant gives police permission to confiscate (steal) all of Sanders’ commercial food preparation equipment—for feeding people—and they did.
Sanders filmed part of the raid and in the video, we can see a large yellow truck backed into his driveway as the ‘heroes’ from the Macon County Sheriff’s Office and the Health Department steal this otherwise innocent man’s livelihood for daring to feed the homeless and make a living without the proper permit.
“It’s a health issue with people consuming foods,” said Lt. Jamie Belcher. “[The Health Department] wants to make sure the food is actually consumable.”
Missing the point entirely is the fact that homeless people are voluntarily eating the food—which makes it consumable. In fact, the other people who were buying the food also made it consumable by voluntarily giving Sanders money in exchange for it. There is no need for the state to enter this scenario at all.
Still, however, the department said it is illegal to distribute food from your home without first paying them and so they claimed the right to invade an innocent man’s home, rob him, and ruin his life.
To show just how ridiculous this raid was and how authorities will go to any length just to do what those above them say—just to do their job—according to Sanders, deputies frequently purchased food from him, as well as the sheriff. Yet still, when it came down to it, instead of a warning or merely telling him to stop until he got the right permit, the sheriff’s office and the health department put discretion aside and raided this man’s home and stole his belongings—for cooking food.
To show just how big of a heart Sanders has, amid the horrific nightmare that is having the state steal your livelihood, he is still calling for peace and love and wrote the following in a Facebook post Thursday morning:
Good morning fb friends and family. I just need to put this out there. The hate that I seen come across my notifications is hurting me more then me losing my business. It’s sad how some of us as a black generation feel we can make racist remarks and think that’s ok. It’s not right at all for no one to be racist no matter what color you are. God bless….
Please share this story to show the atrocities carried out by the supposed “protectors” of society and the innocent lives ruined by that “protection.”
Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project, where this article first appeared. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter, Steemit, and now on Facebook.
You gotta understand, these are our HEROES.
When they aren’t stealing marijuana from the sick, they necessarily need to be stealing pots and pans from scheming, evil chefs.
in-between masterminding the terrorist attacks used to justify all their other crimes.
Well we can’t have homeless people getting sick can we?!
& even though we the state actually enjoyed eating his food,
& we the state arent going to provide food for these homeless people,
We the state think it’s perfectly legitimate to destroy a kind mans life, property & livelihood & have all those homeless people STARVE to death…..
All in the name of health!
Why? Coz we’re the good guys of course
& anyone who disagrees will be shot on site!
peace and love????
Is this guy for real?
No wonder he is stepped on.
Fight brother…like your life depended on it!
Who do you think you are dealing with?
If it was about the food being consumable it would be the food that was taken for sampling, NOT the equipment.
Oh darn, somehow all that industrial food preparation equipment got donated to church in that Chef’s locality. Gee I reckon the church will need to invite him to volunteer his cooking services. And hey if the church just happens to accept donations from people who would otherwise be paying customers, and also feed those who cannot pay, well I reckon the first amendment might come to bear. Ah look the church gifted our chef half of the donations or whatever is decided and agreed upon between the church elders, the chef.
Golly, churches have non-profit status too. Guess they don’t need to pay for permits either, or get a reduced rate to have permits. “Well, how ’bout that?” Alright somebody look up his local churches, Baptist is good, any division of a good Christian church will do though, or the Salvation Army. In either case all labor, finance would fall under religious freedoms.
Chicago police have stolen 50 to 100 million bucks from their own citizens and tourists because of the Search and seizure ” laws:. This act doesn’t surprise me – in the United Satanists of America.
Actually it is ” The Excited States of Paranoia” !!
since the majority of the people living in the united states seem to have IQs below the moron threshold, at least the voters, it is incumbent upon all free-thinking persons to realise their importance approaching the upcoming mid-term elections
talk to other people in the queue with you, just remind them that: tomorrow when the company they work for, becomes insolvent, and they are evicted (the bank doesn’t accept “excuses”) and they are homeless, who would they rather see in the state capitol or even federal congress
the choice is yours – hey, vote the sheriff out, when he is unemployed and homeless, and starving, he might realise that compassion and empathy are not just big words that only intelligent people understand
i was on telegraph ave. lines upon lines of tents on the streets under freeways – everywhere you look. i am sure they are stealing garbage outside restaurants. police are out of control to object to this. just butt out and let people alone. its a problem they refuse to solve except make it worse. doing nothing is better than doing something bad/stupid/disrespectful… etc.
Everyone involved in the raid, from the judge who approved the warrant and seizure notice on down through the police force and health inspectors should be arrested. This is tyranny in a pure and protected form. Where is his protection from illegal search and seizure? One day these agents of tyranny are going to meet an armed resistance from a free citizen who is merely protecting his family, property and self from these jack booted goons. Too bad these thugs with badges don’t go after the drug dealers, pimps & prostitutes and pedophile sex traffickers in Illinois. They could clean up the streets and actually reduce the homeless problem, instead they are happy with the kickback from the drug cartels and slave traders, and attack free citizens in their homes.
I also feel bad about what happened to “Chef” Sanders. However, food born illnesses can be a serious issue in a community. I have no information on the problems facing the Health Department in Macon County. I am curious as to why the restaurant that “Chef” Sanders worked at closed.
It was also stated in the article that “Chef” Sanders was selling food as well as feeding the “homeless.” So it appears that he was conducting a business from his home. Therefore, for the safety of people buying and consuming that food, the Macon County Health Department would have to inspect the business.
So how did the Health Department find out about “Chef” Sanders preparing and selling food from his home? Was there a complaint?
The Circuit Court Warrant orders (“You are commanded”) that the search and confiscation be conducted by the Sheriff Department. The officers had no choice. The Sheriff could be held in contempt of court if the warrant was not served. To state in the article that the officers “stole” the equipment is not appropriate. The equipment was confiscated.