Trump’s election sparked a new fire in many Americans to politically engage and #resist. We’ve seen a lot of the good parts of it, like more women running for political office. Unfortunately, one Virginia man running from Congress also shows the dark side of electing a sexual predator to the White House and supporting a pedophile candidate for U.S. Senate: making misogyny and sexual violence mainstream.
A haunting report by HuffPost shows that Nathan Larson of Charlottesville, Virginia, is proof that there are predatory, hateful men like him who no longer feel like they have to hide in the shadows. He’s running as an independent candidate, but that doesn’t make his candidacy any less horrific. This man told HuffPost that he is indeed a pedophile.
In a phone call, Larson confirmed that he created the now-defunct websites suiped.org and incelocalypse.today ― chat rooms that served as gathering places for pedophiles and violence-minded misogynists like himself. HuffPost contacted Larson after confirming that his campaign website shared an IP address with these forums, among others. His sites were terminated by their domain host on Tuesday.
On the phone, he was open about his pedophilia and seemingly unfazed about his long odds of attaining government office.
“A lot of people are tired of political correctness and being constrained by it,” he said. “People prefer when there’s an outsider who doesn’t have anything to lose and is willing to say what’s on a lot of people’s minds.”
Larson’s depravity isn’t limited to pedophilia. He’s also someone who provided a home to incels, a misogynist group of men who pretend they’re “victims” of not getting laid. This group of violent men are the epitome of rape culture and often advocate for the raping of women.
HuffPost did not view any posts explicitly stating that he has engaged in sexual activity with minors, although he repeatedly expressed a desire to have sex with infants and children, including his own daughter. In the phone call, Larson said that the word “pedophile” is “vague” and “just a label,” adding that it’s “normal” for men to be attracted to underage women. He said he did not commit any crimes.
In a 3,300-word essay on incelocalypse.today, titled “Here’s How to Psyche Yourself Up to Feel Entitled to Rape,” Larson tells other members: “Don’t forget: feminism is the problem, and rape is the solution.” On the platform, he also advocated for father-daughter marriage, killing women and raping virgins.
Unsurprisingly, Larson is also a roaring racist. Research shows that people who are misogynist are often racist, and he is no exception. His campaign manifesto boasts a platform where child pornography and incest are legal—while defending “benevolent white supremacy.” He also calls Adolf Hitler a “white supremacist hero.”
Larson isn’t a strong contender for the seat. He sent the Secret Service a letter threatening to kill President Obama in 2008 and served 14 years in prison. He ran for Virginia’s House of Delegates District 31 and didn’t even get 2 percent of the vote. However, it isn’t the possibility of him in Congress that makes this so scary. It’s the fact that he’s so brazen and feels safe enough to advocate for rape, child abuse, and white supremacy on a national scale.