John McAfee tweets photos of jail stay, ‘airdrops’ bitcoin

Story by: CORINNE REICHERT

John McAfee has tweeted photos of his time in jail this week, at the same time announcing an “airdrop” of cryptocurrency to “celebrate being alive.” In response to a supporter on Twitter, he said he would be giving away 5,000 bitcoin and 10,000 ethereum online.

The antivirus software pioneer has been on the run since 2012 after his alleged involvement in a murder in Belize, which he denies. Data hidden across the world by the 2020 presidential candidate and maker of an “unhackable” cryptocurrency wallet would have been revealed if he remained detained, tweets earlier this week said.

McAfee was released Wednesday after apparently going missing, according to a series of tweets. Operating his Twitter account Tuesday, his campaign manager Rob Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Loggia-Ramirez had said McAfee had been detained by authorities.

“I’m so glad to have returned, it’s a blessing to be free,” McAfee tweeted Thursday afternoon. “The airdrop will continue until the supplies are depleted.”

This followed his campaign manager tweeting from McAfee’s account that “John told me that if he went missing I would need to airdrop some of his remaining crypto.”

McAfee wrote about his “wild ride” of “moving to the Bahamas, fleeing the US Government and dealing with utter chaos for the past few months.” He added his Crypto Extravaganza would be a “semi-annual” event to thank his followers for their support.

“My second arrest in one week – a record I think,” he tweeted alongside one photo of himself sitting under a bed in his cell.

He added it was his wife’s favorite picture of his jailhouse photoshoot. “Janice was incarcerated in the cellblock next door at the same time. She just forgot how to properly smuggle phones,” he said.

McAfee was arrested by the Dominican Republic Armed Forces while docking his yacht in Puerto Plata, AP reported Wednesday afternoon. Multiple high-caliber weapons as well as ammunition were seized during the arrest, AP said. On July 19, McAfee had tweeted a picture of himself and his wife holding guns on his yacht.

Loggia-Ramirez later told CNET in a private Twitter message that to his knowledge, McAfee was detained but not arrested.

McAfee then tweeted a series of pictures of himself leaving detention after “four days of confinement.”

“I was well treated. My superiors were friendly and helpful. In spite of the helpful circumstances, we’ve decided to move on. More later,” he tweeted Wednesday afternoon.

McAfee last week tweeted his only “crime is not filing tax returns,” and claimed the rest of the charges against him is “propaganda by the US government to silence me.” On July 19 he’d said he would be going “dark for the next few days,” claiming the CIA “attempted to collect us.”

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