MELBOURNE, Fla. — A white nationalist who ran for the U.S. Senate in Florida and was a featured speaker during the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was arrested on charges of kidnapping, domestic violence and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Augustus Sol Invictus, 36, was arrested Monday at a Florida mall by Brevard County Sheriff’s deputies on a warrant issued out of South Carolina, the Miami Herald reported. Jail records described him as an “out of state fugitive.”
The Herald noted that news of the arrest was first reported on Twitter by the journalist Nick Martin, who focuses on covering “hate and extremism” in the U.S.
Invictus, an Orlando-area attorney, has called for violent uprisings. During his 2016 Senate bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, he got widespread attention for claiming that he killed a goat and drank its blood as part of a pagan ritual. He failed, however, to win the nomination from Florida’s Libertarian Party to challenge Rubio.
White nationalist Richard Spencer, who organized the deadly Charlottesville rally that refocused attention on the country’s frayed race relations, had credited Invictus with drafting the core tenets behind the rally.
Jail records show that Invictus is being held without bond and is to appear before a judge on Jan. 15.
Invictus was taken into custody Monday afternoon by deputies from the Brevard County Sheriff’s fugitive unit, public information officer Tod Goodyear said Wednesday.
Invictus had been under surveillance since Christmas Day, when South Carolina authorities notified officials in Florida that Invictus may be in the area.
Florida officials began tailing Invictus after tracking him down at a relative’s home, Goodyear said. Invictus was taken into custody without incident after leaving a gym.
