Software pioneer John McAfee is making his second straight bid for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination, but he faces a few logistical challenges. Among them: Not being able to campaign on American soil.
McAfee was the runner-up for the 2016 Libertarian nomination, losing to former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, had served in that office as a Republican. There’s a limited amount of campaigning he can do since he is currently facing arrest for tax evasion charges in the United States.
In January, McAfee, 73, announced that he had been charged with using cryptocurrency in criminal acts. In a video, McAfee said the IRS had convinced a grand jury in order to indict him on unspecified offenses related to his refusal to pay income tax over the past eight years. U.S. authorities have not independently verified the claims, but McAfee lives full-time on his boat in international waters, suggesting he’s wary of visiting a country that has an extradition treaty with the U.S.
Another problem facing McAfee is his seeming acceptance of the fact he will lose in 2020. His campaign slogan is “Don’t Vote McAfee,” which is meant to focus on the fact that a victory is not important but getting his ideas out there is. In a phone interview with the Washington Examiner, McAfee explained why he does not believe he can win.
“No one running Libertarian can win,” McAfee said, “so why f—ing bother?”
McAfee, with a million Twitter followers, added the point of all of this is to get on the national debate so he can get his message out.
McAfee, who was born at a U.S. Army base in England before moving to Tennessee, is known for starting McAfee Associates and helping invent antivirus software. The product known as VirusScan, was an automated program to help computers detect and remove viruses from computers. The discovery helped him earn nearly $100 million in net worth, before leaving the company in 1997 and the company being sold in 2010 to Intel.
McAfee since then has been running from the law. In 2012, he fled police from his home in Belize while under suspicion for the death of his neighbor, before eventually being arrested in Guatemala. In one photo, he is shown together with his wife, both holding rifles claiming to be evading the CIA.
The CIA has attempted to collect us. We are at sea now and will report more soon. I will continue to be dark for the next few days. pic.twitter.com/o79zsbxISl
— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) July 19, 2019
“It is true I have avoided paying taxes for eight years, but not filing taxes is not a crime, actually,” McAfee noted. When asked if taxation is theft, McAfee scoffed. “Of course it f—ing is.”
“We did not have income taxes in this country until 1913, and we seemed to run a government fine.”
Tax evasion is punishable by up to five years in prison.
I Am a presidential candidate with 1.2 mil followers. My crime is not filing tax returns – not a crime. The rest is propaganda by the U.S. government to silence me. My voice is the voice of dissent. If I am silenced, dissent itself will be next.
— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) July 19, 2019
The main tenet of his campaign is cryptocurrency. According to McAfee, the U.S.’s control of currency means that they can “control us” and as a result those in charge can “do whatever they f—ing want.” McAfee went on to note that when interest rates can be changed at random, they can control and change people’s economic situation for the better of government but for the worse of the citizens. “The beauty of cryptocurrency is that no one is in control. Not you, nor I, nor anyone can control it.”
Outside of cryptocurrency and general suspicion of government, McAfee is interested in bringing people together. “A house divided against itself cannot f—ing stand.”
He also went on to note that people in the press were “creating propaganda” even if they were unaware of it, noting that members of the Washington Examiner are “a part of an institution [he loathes].”
On his campaign site, McAfee’s platform notes his lack of knowledge on many of the pressing issues of the day and claims the most important issue is to free the people from the government. “[Do] not ask me about immigration, foreign relations, education etc. I have no idea. Those claiming that they do are lying to themselves, or if not, they are purposely lying to you. We must first be free. Freedom for The People is my only goal.”
