Augustus Sol Invictus

Augustus Sol Invictus
Invictus in April 2020
Born
Austin Gillespie

(1984-07-31) July 31, 1984 (age 40)
EducationUniversity of South Florida (BA)
DePaul University (JD)
Occupation(s)Attorney, politician, publisher
Political partyLibertarian (2015–2017)
Republican (2017–present)
Children4

Augustus Sol Invictus (born Austin Mitchell Gillespie; July 31, 1984)[1] is an American far-right political activist, attorney, blogger and white nationalist.

Invictus was a candidate for the Libertarian Party nomination in the 2016 United States Senate election in Florida. Local party chairman Adrian Wyllie resigned over his candidacy and the unwillingness of the party to disavow it.[2][3] He lost overwhelmingly in the primary to opponent Paul Stanton, garnering 26.5% of votes cast.[4]

In a press release from 2015, Invictus was accused by the Libertarian Party of Florida of advocating for eugenics and "state-sponsored murder".[5] In April 2017, the Libertarian Party of Florida, following mediation, issued a retraction of the 2015 press release, stating that "it exceeded the mandate of the executive committee", and declaring that "Mr. Invictus has always been a member in good standing, is a past chair of the Libertarian Party of Orange County, a sponsor of the 2016 and 2017 LPF State Conventions, as well as a dedicated volunteer on the Legislative Review Committee."[6] In July 2017, Invictus changed his party affiliation to Republican, announcing his candidacy for the 2018 United States Senate election in Florida.[7][8]

Invictus was a headline speaker at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12, 2017, that ended with three deaths, and was ultimately tried and convicted for his actions that weekend.[9][10] He has represented Marcus Faella, the former head of the white-supremacist group American Front, in court. Invictus is the publisher of The Revolutionary Conservative, a publication which calls for a violent uprising[11] and states that its aim is to restore the American republic and defend Western civilization.[12] He was controversial within the Libertarian Party for his neo-fascist political views and history of racist associations.[13] He has been described by media reports as being associated with the alt-right movement.[14] He has proposed the repeal of several amendments to the US Constitution, stipulating that only white male citizens should be allowed to vote or own real property.[15][16]

  1. ^ "Libertarian Party drama: Goat sacrifice, eugenics and a chair's resignation". Politico. October 2015. Archived from the original on July 8, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  2. ^ Doherty, Brian (November 7, 2016). "Florida Senate Candidate Bears Any Burden for the Libertarian Party". reason.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  3. ^ "Libertarian Official Resigns To Protest Candidate Who Does Animal Sacrifices". October 2, 2015. Archived from the original on June 18, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  4. ^ "74% to 26%: Florida Libertarians reject Invictus, nominate Stanton for Senate in Aug 30 primary". August 30, 2016. Archived from the original on August 31, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  5. ^ Powers, Scott (April 6, 2017). "Domestic violence report, lawsuit threats, video complicating Augustus Invictus-Libertarian Party bonds". Florida Politics. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  6. ^ Braden, Char-Lez (April 7, 2017). "Statement Regarding Augustus Sol Invictus". Libertarian Party of Florida. Archived from the original on January 5, 2018.
  7. ^ "Far Right Plans Its Next Moves With a New Energy". The New York Times. August 14, 2017. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  8. ^ Welch, Matt (July 17, 2017). "Controversial Western Civilization Crusader Augustus Sol Invictus Bolts Libertarian Party for the GOP". Reason. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  9. ^ Michael van Sickler (August 14, 2017). "Goat-blood-drinking ex-Florida senate candidate headlined Charlottesville rally". The Miami Herald. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Dys, Andrew (January 6, 2020). "Florida white nationalist who spoke at Charlottesville rally denied bond in SC. Why?". The Herald. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  12. ^ Invictus, Augustus Sol (January 31, 2017). "The Revolutionary Conservative: Mission Statement". The Revolutionary Conservative. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017.
  13. ^ "Libertarians United Against Fascism: 'To the Cowardly Collaborators of the Libertarian Party of Florida, and a Call to Action Against Them'". April 12, 2017. Archived from the original on July 27, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  14. ^ "Goat-blood-drinking Rubio Opponent Accused of Sexual Assault". Vocativ. April 4, 2017. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tess Owen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference silent sam was invoked but never defined (see the help page).