John McAfee says he’s on the run again – this time from the US government

'If you think that an agency of the US government would not stoop to assassination, kidnapping, threats, then what are you smoking?'

Cybersecurity pioneer John McAfee says he fears for his life and is on the run after claiming the US government is out to get him.

In a series of videos posted online on Tuesday, Mr McAfee said issues with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had forced him into hiding.

Mr McAfee, who is best known for creating the eponymous antivirus software, has recently been involved with various cryptocurrency companies and was served with a subpoena by the SEC in 2016.

"We are in a five vehicle motorcade," Mr McAfee told The Independent. "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."

More details about his problems with the SEC were given in the first video, posted from an unknown location and filmed on Monday evening.

“The SEC was never intended to have this power, please God America, wake up and see what has happened,” Mr McAfee said.

“The SEC is in charge of our entire industry, our companies, our manufacturing, our distribution, our creativity, our entrepreneurship. When it was created, in the wisdom of the creators, it had only civil powers. If it got p***ed off at you, it could sue you, end of story.

“Now, with the cooperation of the justice department, the SEC can get involved, or bring people in who can punish you beyond a civil suit. The SEC owns America, please God, wake up people. And if you think that an agency of the US government would not stoop to assassination, kidnapping, threats, then what are you smoking?”

In an email exchange with The Independent in April, Mr McAfee mentioned his concerns, saying: “I know that I’m in the crosshairs of the SEC.”

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.

His latest fears of kidnapping relate to his involvement with cryptocurrency, which he says is a threat to the power wielded by the SEC and the financial elite.

In an interview with his business associate Rob Loggia, Mr McAfee said his public advocacy of cryptocurrency has made him a target.

“The SEC wants to destroy a revolution – a movement of the people – by making an example out of me,” Mr McAfee said. “I cannot allow that to happen."

In the final video posted on Tuesday, Mr McAfee explained his views on the government agency.

“We have a pyramidal power system that is corrupt at the core,” Mr McAfee said. “You think the SEC has no power, but every single major industry and business in America is under the thumb of the SEC.

“The SEC is one of the most powerful agencies in the world. It is out of hand, and it does not anymore represent American values or the American people.”

The SEC did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent.