John McAfee says he has been poisoned, and tells culprits: 'You will soon understand the true meaning of wrath'

'It takes more than poison, bullets or hanging to kill me,' tech tycoon says

Anthony Cuthbertson
Friday 22 June 2018 21:36 BST
Comments
John McAfee says he is on the run from the SEC

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Cyber security pioneer John McAfee has claimed “incompetent enemies” have poisoned him, just one month after telling The Independent that he feared for his life.

The founder of the eponymous antivirus company took to Twitter on Friday, 22 June, to share photos of himself lying in a hospital bed covered in tubes.

“I apologise for my three day absence but I was unconscious for two days at the Vidant Medical Centre in North Carolina and just woke up,” McAfee tweeted.

“My enemies maged [sic] to spike something that i ingested. However, I am more difficult to kill than anyone can possibly imagine. I am back.”

Mr McAfee did not immediately respond to a request for further comment about whether he thought it is related to fears that nefarious actors want to kill him.

In a series of videos posted to YouTube last month, Mr McAfee said issues with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had forced him to go on the run.

His involvement with various cryptocurrency companies led to him being served with a subpoena by the SEC in 2016.

“We are in a five-vehicle motorcade,” Mr McAfee told The Independent in May. ”All vehicles driven by ex-military special forces and filled to the brim with heavily-armed security personnel.

“I purposely and publicly committed a felony this morning to call the SEC out [in the videos]. I’m mad as hell and I’m not taking any more s*** from corrupt-to-the-core government agencies.”

Mr McAfee has previously claimed that violent cartels have attempted to kidnap him on several occasions over the last few years, most recently in September. Those attempts, he says, relate to his time in Belize when he was caught up in the investigation of the murder of his neighbour in 2012.

As a result, Mr McAfee lives with armed security guards at his heavily fortified home in Lexington, Tennessee.

Mr McAfee shared more photos on Twitter, showing him and his wife Janice McAfee giving the middle finger to the camera.

“And for those who did this – You will soon understand the true meaning of wrath,” he also tweeted.

In response to one well wisher, Mr McAfee said: “It takes more than poison, bullets or hanging to kill me. All three have been tried more than once.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in