Election season gets even crazier as McAfee enters the race

Steven Loeb · September 9, 2015 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/4000

The security software pioneer has had numerous run-ins with the law, including suspicion of murder

With Donald Trump strutting around, puffing up his chest, and offending people all over the country, this Presidential race, which was barely even begun, is the craziest one I can ever remember. 

And now it might be getting even crazier. At the very least, more interesting now that John McAfee, the founder of the antivirus software company that still bears his name, is entering the race. He already has a campaign website that is currently up and running, with a quote from George Washington:

"Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism."

In case you were afraid that we'd be getting yet another Republican candidate (seriously, 16 of them is more than enough!), McAfee is not affiliating himself with either major party. In a filing with the Federal Election Committee, submitted on behalf of McAfee for President, the candidate says that he will be "founding a new party yet to be announced."

While no other details were given, the campaign has revealed to Ars Technica that the party will be known as the "Cyber Party," though what platforms and positions McAfee will be taking are yet unclear. 

Here's what we can gleam from the "Legalize Freedom" section of his website, in which he blogs about political issues:

First, he's pro-net neutrality (link is slightly NSWF). He doesn't much care for the NSA. He's for anonymity on the Internet. He doesn't think the government cares about the will of the people. And he thinks the government, specifically President Obama, is being too harsh while trying to protect Americans from hackers. 

McAfee will occupy an interesting place in this race. He won't be the only tech candidate; that other one would be former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who has recently been surging in the polls, enough so that she could pressure CNN to let her into its upcoming debate. 

Though McAfee hasn't been involved in his security company in decades (he resigned from the company in 1994; it was then sold to Intel in 2011, who then dropped the McAfee name altogether last year) he did found a new company in 2014 called BrownList, a site for ordinary people to complaints on anything from poor customer service, opposing views with a politician to an issue with an institution.

What McAfee might be able to do, though, is make Donald Trump seem stable by comparison. McAfee has had a wild last few years, which resulted in numerous encounters with the law. 

In April of 2012, John McAfee was arrested for unlicensed drug manufacturing and possession of an unlicensed weapon, though he was never charged.

Then, in November of the same year, he became a suspect of a murder investigation of his neighbor in Belize. McAfee fled the country and became a fugitive.  He was arrested while trying to sneak into Guatamala, and was eventually deported to the United States. McAfee has not been charged in the murder case.

More recently, just last month in fact, he was arrested again, this time for driving under the influence and for possession of a handgun. 

To get an idea of what you're in for, here's a video McAfee put up in 2013 about how to uninstall McAfee Antivirus. The video (which is NSFW) includes the following moments: him lighting his cigarette with money (Krusty the Clown style), lots of cursing, scantily clad women and McAfee pretending (I hope) to do cocaine.

Spoiler alert: it ends with McAfee, his nose caked with cocaine, taking out his gun and shooting his computer. 

Just when you though this whole thing couldn't get any more surreal or crazy, now this guy wants to be President. I'll say one thing: it McAfee ever finds himself on an actual debate stage, it's going to get wild!

The filing was first noticed by The Hill on Tuesday.

VatorNews has reached out to McAfee, and his campaign, for comment on his new party, its platform and positions. We will update this story if we learn more. 

(Image source: twitter.com)

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