Augustus Invictus, a former Libertarian Party candidate for U.S. Senate from Orlando most famous for saying he sacrificed a goat and drank its blood, had an important role in the white nationalist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville on Saturday. <\/p>\n
Invictus, 34, was listed as a featured marcher for the Saturday event, which was roundly condemned after marchers carried Nazi flags, performed Hitler salutes and chanted white supremacist and anti-Semitic sayings while carrying torches. He could not be reached for comment Monday. <\/p>\n
Invictus lost the 2016 Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate in Florida to Paul Stanton, but not before state Chairman Adrian Wyllie resigned in protest. The Libertarian Party of Seminole County also disbanded and its chair, Don Menzel, resigned in protest of his candidacy. Wyllie alleged at the time Invictus wanted to lead a civil war in the country, recruit neo-Nazis to the party and supported a eugenics program. <\/p>\n
Invictus denied he had white supremacist sympathies at the time, but the Tampa Bay Times reported Monday white nationalist leader Richard Spencer credited Invictus with writing a first draft of the Charlottesville Statement. <\/p>\n
The statement, according to the Times, has tenets including, Jews are an ethno-religious people distinct from Europeans ... whites alone defined America as a European society and political order .. [and] the so-called 'refugee crisis' is an invasion, a war without bullets, taking place on the fields of race, religion, sex and morality. <\/p>\n
Spencer is hoping to speak at the University of Florida on Sept. 12, but nothing has been finalized, university officials said Monday. UF President Kent Fuchs wrote in an email the university has a First Amendment obligation to let him do so. <\/p>\n
Invictus, a former attorney who voluntarily gave up his eligibility to practice law in March, has been active on the political scene in Central Florida this year. In May, he spoke before the Orlando City Council meeting in May against removing the Confederate Johnny Reb monument. The statue was ultimately moved to a cemetery. <\/p>\n
In a YouTube video posted in July, Invictus revealed he was leaving the Libertarian party and registering as a Republican. <\/p>\n
Countless millions of Americans are beginning to lament the leftward shift in their homeland, and the great awakening is upon us, he said in his video. Let us aim our rifles in the right direction, let us fight beside each other rather than against each other. Let us unite the right wing of American politics at long last, in order to secure our country and its civilization. <\/p>\n
In Charlottesville, a counterprotester, Heather Heyer, was killed and others injured Saturday after a car ran into them following the rally. An Ohio man has been charged with second-degree murder and other charges. <\/p>\n
President Donald Trump was criticized, including by members of the Republican Party, for not specifically condemning white supremacists and neo-Nazis by name. But on Monday, Trump specifically denounced those groups, saying, We condemn in the strongest possible terms, this display of hatred, bigotry, and violence.\" <\/p>\n
In 2015, Invictus said he had walked from Central Florida to the Mojave Desert two years earlier and spent a week fasting and praying. In a pagan ritual to give thanks when he returned home, he said he killed a goat and drank its blood. <\/p>\n
I did sacrifice a goat. I know that's probably a quibble in the mind of most Americans, he said at the time. I sacrificed an animal to the god of the wilderness ... Yes, I drank the goat's blood. <\/p>\n
He also contended he had been investigated by the FBI and other law enforcement because of his political views. He renounced his citizenship in one of his posted writings, and in another he prophesied a great war, saying he would wander into the wilderness and return bearing revolution. <\/p>\n
News Service of Florida and the Associated Press contributed to this report. slemongello@orlandosentinel.com<\/a>, 407-418-5920 or @stevelemongello <\/p>\n White nationalist Richard Spencer scheduled to speak at UF next month <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Continue reading here:<\/p>\n Goat-blood drinking Orlando man had key billing for Charlottesville rally - Orlando Sentinel<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Augustus Invictus, a former Libertarian Party candidate for U.S. Senate from Orlando most famous for saying he sacrificed a goat and drank its blood, had an important role in the white nationalist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville on Saturday Continue reading