John McAfee Launches Second Presidential Bid

Controversial security and cryptocurrency expert John McAfee has launched his bid to become President of the United States of America.

It should be remembered that McAfee ran in the US presidential election in 2016 under the Libertarian Party banner, but finished as runner-up for the Libertarian nomination.

This time McAfee said that if the Libertarian Party didn’t want him, he would form his own party. This means technically he is running as an independent and his main campaign issue is to promote the use of cryptocurrencies and his campaign slogan is “Get Your Soul Back”.

Presidential bid

In July this year McAfee announced he had been detained for a number of days in South America, after Dominican Republic Armed Forces boarded his yacht in Puerto Plata.

Multiple high-calibre weapons as well as ammunition were reportedly seized during the arrest. He was later released.

Although his official presidential website has not been updated, McAfee announced the start of his bid in a tweet.

“The McAfee 2020 US Presidential Campaign has now formally begun. I cannot be President,” he tweeted. “You all know this. But I hope you also know that I am a perfect candidate to disrupt this system, and I fully intend to do so. Welcome to our first campaign video.”

McAfee’s comment about him not being able to be President is noteworthy, as despite McAfee being born on a US military base in the UK (to an American dad and a British mother), he is considered a natural-born citizen of the United States.

The other two requirements to be US president is that the presidential candidate has to be at least 35 years old, and have been a resident of the United States for a minimum of 14 years – both of which he satisfies.

But McAfee is locked in a tax dispute with the US IRS (for failing to file his tax returns).

Also, he has yet (at the time of writing) to register with the Federal Election Committee (FEC) and file reports on campaign contributions and expenditures in excess of $5,000.

Colourful life

The antivirus software pioneer has had a colourful life.

In 2012 he went on the run after his neighbour in Belize and fellow US expatriate Gregory Faull was shot in the head in San Pedro Town on the island of Ambergris Caye.

McAfee denied involvement in the murder after police in Belize said they wanted to question McAfee, but the millionaire said that he believed Faull had been killed in error, and the murderers were in fact after McAfee.

This motivated McAfee to change his appearance and go on the run.

He hid in Belize jungle for three weeks, but then crossed into neighbouring Guatemala, where he was arrested by immigration officials for entering the country illegally, and eventually deported – but to the US, not Belize.

However Belizean police did not persist in seeking McAfee’s imprisonment for murder, making him a free man.

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