Fla. man ran for President, U.S. Senate. He now faces domestic violence trial in York SC
A Florida man, who has published alt-right news and was a candidate for President and the U.S. Senate, is set for trial Monday in a South Carolina courtroom on charges of domestic violence and weapons violations.
Augustus Sol Invictus, also a lawyer, is charged with domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to arrest warrants and court records reviewed by The Herald.
Invictus, 38, has been free on bail since the summer of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, after he was arrested in Florida in late December 2019. His wife alleged Invictus choked her and held a gun to her head in December 2019 in Rock Hill, according to arrest warrants issued to the Rock Hill Police Department.
The warrants state Invictus struck his wife with his fists. Invictus was “threatening to shoot her if she did not listen to him,” the warrants state.
The case is set for trial in York, S.C., at the Moss Justice Center with South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Brian Gibbons of Chester presiding, York County Clerk of Court records show.
Prosecutor Jenny Desch of the 16th Circuit Solicitor’s office and Invictus’ lawyer, 16th Circuit Public Defender B.J. Barrowclough, confirmed to The Herald the trial date. Desch and Barrowclough declined comment on the pending trial.
Invictus denies the allegations
Invictus and his lawyer have denied the charges in previous court hearings. Invictus has pleaded not guilty.
Invictus has no criminal history, his lawyer and court documents have stated.
Previous court hearings and court documents showed Invictus’ wife did not report any allegations of a 2019 crime in Rock Hill until more than a week later when she contacted police in Florida.
Police and prosecutors have said previously in court that Invictus allegedly forced his wife to drive to Florida after she was beaten. Invictus still had the gun during the drive, according to prosecutors.
Invictus was taken into custody on the Rock Hill charges on Dec. 30, 2019 in Melbourne, Fla., records show. He then waived extradition and returned to Rock Hill where he was served arrest warrants and first appeared in court in January 2020.
In his first court hearing, Invictus called the charges against him absurd. He said in court he was innocent. A judge ruled Invictus was indigent after his arrest in 2020 and he was assigned a public defender. An initial charge of kidnapping against Invictus was dismissed by a magistrate judge shortly after his arrest.
COVID-19 and bail
Invictus was initially in jail for weeks after his arrest. He was denied bail at a hearing in February 2020.
But after the COVID-19 pandemic began, Invictus and his lawyers asked for another bond hearing.
Invictus was freed on $10,000 bail in April 2020. He was then arrested again near Orlando, Fla., in connection with new stalking allegations, court documents obtained by The Herald show. He was brought back to the York County jail and denied bail in court in July 2020, documents show. He was released a second time on $10,000 bail in August 2020. The Florida stalking charge was dismissed in August 2020, online Florida court records showed.
Political candidate and commentator
Invictus is known for his views published in videos and online about society and politics, according to previous court hearings. Invictus unsuccessfully ran for the Libertarian nomination in Florida’s 2016 the U.S. Senate race.
One of Invictus’ lawyers said previously in court Invictus operated an “alt-right news site.”
He was reportedly a featured speaker at a ‘Unite the Right’ Rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017, according to CBS News, The Miami Herald and other reports. The rally later turned deadly when a person was killed by a car.
He has made public speeches and writings about the failings of the government and judicial system, police said in previous court hearings. Invictus said in court after his arrest in January 2020 those statements he made about politics were part of a political campaign and had no bearing on the criminal charges against him.
On Invictus’ Twitter page, which has been used regularly in 2021 and 2022, Invictus is described as a Florida lawyer. The page in 2020 stated Invictus was a candidate for President.
Invictus’ Web site for his law business in Florida states he has a weekly podcast called “Crime & Punishment.” The Invictus law business Web site states Invictus has been “maliciously prosecuted.”
Trial and charges
The charge of domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature is a felony that carries a potential punishment of up to 20 years for a conviction, South Carolina law states. The weapon charge is a felony that carries up to five years in prison for a conviction.
There have been only a few trials in York County courts since regular court sessions resumed after the pandemic. Courts previously required masks for all people in the courthouse and had partitions and socially distanced seats for jurors, but those restrictions have been eased or eliminated.
