Software Entrepreneur John McAfee Found Dead in Spanish Prison

Software antivirus entrepreneur John McAfee purportedly committed suicide in his prison cell in Spain on Wednesday, after a Spanish court ruled he would be extradited to the U.S. to face charges of tax evasion, which carried a sentence of up to 30 years. McAfee was arrested at a Spanish airport in October, and spent the following months until now in a Spanish prison. The Associated Press reported that Tennessee prosecutors said McAfee owed the U.S. government over $4 million in taxes from fiscal years 2014-2018, but the National Court judge extradited him to face charges from only 2016-2018. McAfee argued several weeks ago that prosecutors in the U.S. were politically motivated, and that were he to go back and face the charges, he would spend the rest of his life in prison. Spanish authorities said an initial investigation uncovered no signs of foul play, according to Spanish newspaper El Pais. McAfee's attorney, Nishay Sanan, said McAfee will be remembered as a "fighter," and that “he tried to love this country but the US government made his existence impossible. They tried to erase him but they failed." Sanan also said as of Wednesday afternoon, there was no confirmation regarding the cause of McAfee's death. 

Outlets across the spectrum covered McAfee's tax evasion charges and death. Some outlets highlighted McAfee's "eccentric" personal history, his use of social media to promote controverisal or false theories, and his history of run-ins with the law. Some on social media suggested foul play surrounding McAfee's suicide, and pointed to McAfee's post from 2019, in which McAfee claimed U.S. officials were "coming for him" and said "If I suicide myself, I didn't. I was whackd." Hours after his death, McAfee's Instagram account apparently posted a picture of the letter "Q".