Summary: Augustus Sol Invictus, a Libertarian Senate candidate, recently admitted to sacrificing a goat and drinking its warm blood.
Most Americans are used to politicians touting their Christianity to get votes. It’s less clear if the country is ready for a Pagan leader with neo-Nazi followers.
Augustus Sol Invictus is running for Marco Rubio’s vacant seat in the Florida Senate. The 32-year-old lawyer and a member of the Libertarian Party has drawn a lot of attention lately by confirming allegations that he sacrificed a goat in a Pagan ritual and drank its blood.
“I did sacrifice a goat. I know that’s probably a quibble in the mind of most Americans,” he told the Associated Press. “I sacrificed an animal to the god of the wilderness…Yes, I drank the goat’s blood.”
While announcing his candidacy in May, Invictus referred to a trip he took to the Mojave desert. Sources say Invictus walked from Central Florida to the Mojave Desert two years ago on a spiritual journey. During that time, he fasted and prayed; when he returned home, he killed a goat and drank its warm blood.
The chairman of the Florida Libertarian Party, Adrian Wyllie, called Invictus out on Facebook October 1st, labeling the young lawyer “dangerous” and resigning from his own congressional post in protest. Wyllie says he hoped his resignation would draw attention to Invictus and hurt the young man’s senate candidacy. (To see the full post, click here).
“He is the absolute exact opposite of a Libertarian. He’s a self-proclaimed fascist. He’s promoting a second civil war,” Wyllie said in The Orlando Sentinel. “It’s absolute insanity. We must explain to people this is the opposite of Libertarians. This guy has no place in the Libertarian Party.”
The Libertarian Party is small and hoping to gain clout in politics. Invictus would have been the only senate candidate running on its behalf.
Invictus says he isn’t trying to start a civil war. Instead, he argues that the government is at war with its people. He claims the FBI and other law enforcement are investigating him because of his views.
“The only question is when are the citizens going to start fighting back?” he said in the Orlando Sentinel. “I don’t think I’m the only person who sees a cataclysm coming, but I think I’m the only person saying it, and I think that scares people.”
In addition to Goat-Gate, Invictus has been accused of receiving support from neo-Nazis and other hate groups. Although he denies being a white supremacist, and cites his four Hispanic children as proof, he admits to hate group affiliations and proudly states it’s his duty to help them as a Libertarian.
According to the New York Daily News, Invictus wrote the following in a September Facebook post: “It has been said that I associate with neo-Nazis and skinheads. You’re goddamn right I do. I am a criminal defense lawyer, and I am proud of the work I have done for the American Front. Every Libertarian in America should be supporting them as victims of an overreaching Government, and for the record, I am proud to call them my friends.”
