This story contains several mentions of suicide. If you have thoughts of self-harm, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, available 24 hours at 800-273-8255.
John McAfee, the reclusive software “genius” who was indicted for tax evasion last year, died by suicide Wednesday. McAfee faced up to thirty years in federal prison if convicted for tax evasion, something he had so far managed to avoid by not being in the United States. But he was arrested in Spain by America’s request last year and he fought extradition until he couldn’t any longer and then went for plan B.
McAfee’s death was confirmed by his attorney. Suicide is not uncommon for celebrity figures, nor is it uncommon for people who are accused of severe crimes. When Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019 by suicide, it sparked conspiracy theories and rumors that effectively turned Epstein into a twisted martyr, a hero who allegedly died at the hands of wealthy elites who did not want him to spill their secrets. Epstein’s death quickly became entwined with conspiracy theories about Democrats and the Clinton family. The most plausible answer – that Epstein committed suicide to avoid a trial and subsequent jail sentence where he may well have been murdered anyway – doesn’t satisfy those who are certain that his death meant he evaded justice.
Well, buckle in. Again, if you don’t know about John McAfee, take a moment to learn about his time in Belize, his fake COVID arrest, his weird cryptocurrency dealings, and the fact that, just a week ago, he said he expected to spend the rest of his life in prison if he was extradited to the U.S. to stand trial.
Cool. You’re caught up? Okay. So, an hour or so after his death was announced, this was posted to McAfee’s Instagram:
That is, of course, the letter Q, which is famously associated with some fucking bullshit. McAfee, who ran for the Libertarian nomination in 2020, was no fan of Donald Trump, and had no previously posted about QAnon before. The posthumous post was either made by a member of his “social media team,” as The Week reported, or was a scheduled post McAfee arranged before his death. While he had not discussed QAnon specifically, McAfee was big into conspiracies, believing that he was targeted because of… reasons. He often tweeted about the “power” of governments to “silence” people.
It’s easy to see how those close to McAfee might also buy into QAnon and how they might even try to use his death to advance it. The post provokes mystery. Is John claiming, from the grave, to have been Q? No, that’s Ronald Watkins. Is he claiming to have been done in like Epstein supposedly was? Ah, yes, before he could spill their “secrets” like he did when he showed off “vulnerabilities” in Android that weren’t really there?
Nah. This post is just a little bit of classic McAfee trolling, whether it came at his instruction or was by his social media ‘team.’ A life meant to seem cryptic and mysterious but that never lived up to that dream.
Rest in peace, you crazy nonsense man.
