Augustus Sol Invictus, a featured speaker at the 2017 Charlottesville, Virginia, "Unite the Right" rally, was arrested Monday on charges of kidnapping, domestic violence and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
The 2017 neo-nazi rally became infamous after a man deliberately drove his vehicle into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer. Following the senseless killing, President Donald Trump spoke on the events, stating there were "very fine people on both sides," although he did later condemn neo-Nazis and white nationalists.
White nationalist Richard Spencer, who originally organized the Charlottesville rally, credited Invictus with drafting the core tenets behind the event.
A Miami Herald report listed numerous core tenets credited to Invictus, such as “Whites alone defined America as a European society and political order,” “We oppose feminism, deviancy, the futile denial of biological reality, and everything destructive to healthy relations between men and women,” “The so-called ‘refugee crisis’ is an invasion, a war without bullets, taking place on the fields of race, religion, sex and morality. At stake is Europe’s very identity” and “Leftism is an ideology of death and must be confronted and defeated.”
According to a CBS News report, Invictus was arrested Monday at a Florida mall on a warrant issued out of South Carolina. A Miami Herald report quoted jail records as listing him as an "out of state fugitive."
1. NEW: White nationalist Augustus Sol Invictus, a lawyer who has described himself at different times as an emperor, a prophet and a god, was arrested Monday in Florida on suspicion of kidnapping, domestic violence and weapons violations. pic.twitter.com/wLKrhCCkHl
— Nick Martin (@nickmartin) January 1, 2020
The 36-year-old Orlando-area attorney previously launched a campaign for the Senate in an attempt to unseat Florida Republican Marco Rubio. Invictus rose to somewhat national prominence during the campaign when he claimed to have killed a goat and drank its blood as part of a pagan ritual before eventually failing to capture the Libertarian party's nomination.
Online court records sourced by The Herald show that Invictus' court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 15. He is currently being held without bond.
