Monday, May 16, 2016

Augustus Sol Invictus, an Orlando, Florida attorney currently seeking the Libertarian Party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by former Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio, took part in a short interview with Wikinews reporter William S. Saturn to discuss his background, political views, and unorthodox campaign for the Senate.

Invictus, whose name was changed from his birth name to the Latin for “majestic unconquered sun”, has received media coverage for previously expressing fascistic views and participating in pagan rituals. While in law school, he penned an article advocating a eugenics program, and in 2013, he wrote a “departure memo” renouncing his U.S. citizenship and law license while announcing plans to go into the wilderness until a civil war. He returned after making a pilgrimage from Orlando to the Mojave Desert, where he fasted for a week. Upon his return to Florida, he sacrificed a goat and drank its blood. Former Libertarian Party of Florida chairman Adrian Wyllie resigned his chairmanship in protest of Invictus’s candidacy.

Though initially uncontested for the nomination, Invictus has recently received a challenge from information technology specialist Paul Stanton. Political operative Roger Stone opened an exploratory committee to consider running for the nomination but has not shown further interest. The primary election is to be held August 30. To qualify for the ballot, a candidate must either pay a US$10,000 fee or collect 100,000 signatures.