Eight years after he emailed the Secret Service and threatened to kill President Barack Obama, a Northern Virginia man is now out of prison, equipped with enough signatures in at least one county to run for the House of Delegates.
A federal judge sentenced Nathan Daniel Larson to 16 months in prison with three years of supervised release. After Larson served time behind bars and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe restored his voting rights, the convicted felon decided early this year to run for a seat in the Commonwealth’s lower chamber.
In Virginia, voting rights are lost upon conviction of a felony. Eligibility to vote is a requirement to run for public office in the state.
Larson intends to run for Virginia’s 31st House District, an area encompassing Prince William and Fauquier Counties. Fauquier election officials confirmed Monday Larson exceeded the threshold of signatures needed to have his name on the November ballot.
Election representatives in Prince William, Virginia’s second largest county, said Larson has submitted signatures, names that are now in the process of being reviewed.
But Larson’s past may not be the most unusual or unsettling aspect of his campaign. The self-proclaimed libertarian proposes the suppression of women’s rights, including the right to vote.
“I think women want male leadership, and so men have to be strong,” Larson said in an interview Monday. “Men have to take the stances they believe are right, and women will respect that.”
The 2003 graduate of George Mason University ran for Congress as a Libertarian in 2008, losing to Republican incumbent Rob Wittman in Virginia’s 1st Congressional District.
The Libertarian Party of Virginia is now distancing itself from Larson, with Chairman Bo Brown saying the party plans to expel the candidate during a March 26 meeting.
“There’s no chance he’ll be running with this party,” Brown said in a phone interview. “He should be able to run, but if you continue to run, your character will come into question.”
Larson confirmed he also advocates the belief that fathers should be able to marry their daughters. In his view, fathers have a greater interest in taking care of their offspring, as opposed to men who marry into the family.
When asked about his views on women influencing politics, Larson grew taciturn.
On Ivanka Trump, “I don’t really have any strong opinions about her.”
On U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, “She’s fine, as far as I know.”
On Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, “I haven’t thought about that.”
On Hillary Clinton, “I prefer Donald Trump.”
Larson plans to run as an independent candidate after state Libertarians expel him later this month. Official certification for candidates without party affiliations happens June 13, with election officials reporting Larson at this point only needs to file financial disclosure forms.
“If you’re independent, it just means you’re the one who’s running an experimental campaign,” Larson said. “Sometimes it may mean you’re ahead of your time.”
