Nathan Larson
Nathan Larson (independent) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Virginia's 10th Congressional District. He did not appear on the ballot for the general election on November 6, 2018.
Larson died on September 18, 2022, in federal custody while awaiting trial on felony charges including kidnapping and child pornography.[1] These charges stemmed from his December 2020 arrest in Denver while traveling with a missing 12-year-old girl from Fresno, California.[2] Read more about his arrest below.
Larson received national attention after the Huffington Post reported on May 31, 2018, that he had allegedly admitted to creating a pair of internet forums that advocated for child pedophilia and violence against women.[3]
Biography
Larson's professional experience included working as an accountant.[4]
Elections
2018
General election
General election for U.S. House Virginia District 10
Jennifer Wexton defeated incumbent Barbara Comstock in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 10 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jennifer Wexton (D) | 56.1 | 206,356 | |
| Barbara Comstock (R) | 43.7 | 160,841 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 598 | ||
| Total votes: 367,795 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Nathan Larson (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 10
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 10 on June 12, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jennifer Wexton | 41.9 | 22,405 | |
| Alison Kiehl Friedman | 23.0 | 12,283 | ||
| Lindsey Davis Stover | 16.0 | 8,567 | ||
| Dan Helmer | 12.5 | 6,712 | ||
| Paul Pelletier | 3.8 | 2,010 | ||
| Julia Biggins | 2.8 | 1,513 | ||
| Total votes: 53,490 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Michael Pomerleano (D)
- Shadi Ayyas (D)
- Julien Modica (D)
- Kimberly Adams (D)
- Deep Sran (D)
- David Hanson (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 10
Incumbent Barbara Comstock defeated Shak Hill in the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 10 on June 12, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Barbara Comstock | 60.7 | 28,287 | |
| Shak Hill | 39.3 | 18,311 | ||
| Total votes: 46,598 | ||||
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2017
General election
Elections for the Virginia House of Delegates took place in 2017. All 100 house seats were up for election. The general election took place on November 7, 2017. A primary election took place on June 13, 2017. The filing deadline for primary election candidates was March 30, 2017. The filing deadline for non-party candidates and candidates nominated by methods other than a primary was June 13, 2017.[5] Elizabeth Guzman (D) defeated incumbent Scott Lingamfelter (R) and Nathan Larson (Independent) in the Virginia House of Delegates District 31 general election.[6]
| Virginia House of Delegates, District 31 General Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Elizabeth Guzman |
54.07% | 15,466 | |
| Republican | Scott Lingamfelter Incumbent | 44.25% | 12,658 | |
| Independent | Nathan Larson | 1.68% | 481 | |
| Total Votes | 28,605 | |||
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections | ||||
Races we watched
Ballotpedia identified 13 races to watch in the Virginia House of Delegates 2017 elections: four Democratic seats and nine Republican seats. Based on analysis of these districts' electoral histories, these races had the potential to be more competitive than other races and could possibly have led to shifts in a chamber's partisan balance.
This district was a Race to Watch because the incumbent won less than 55 percent of the vote in 2015 and the presidential candidate of the opposite party won in 2016. Incumbent Scott Lingamfelter (R) was first elected to the seat in 2001. He won re-election in 2015 with 53.4 percent of the vote, defeating his Democratic challenger by 6.8 points. He won in 2013 by 1.0 points. District 31 was one of 51 Virginia House districts that Democrat Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election. Clinton carried District 31 by 10.3 points. Democrat Barack Obama won the seat in the 2012 presidential election by 7.4 points. As of 2017, District 31 covered parts of Fauquier County and parts of Prince William County.
Democratic primary election
Elizabeth Guzman defeated Sara Townsend in the Virginia House of Delegates District 31 Democratic primary.[7]
| Virginia House of Delegates, District 31 Democratic Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Elizabeth Guzman |
52.15% | 3,062 |
| Sara Townsend | 47.85% | 2,809 |
| Total Votes | 5,871 | |
Republican primary election
Incumbent Scott Lingamfelter ran unopposed in the Virginia House of Delegates District 31 Republican primary.[8]
| Virginia House of Delegates, District 31 Republican Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | ||
| Scott Lingamfelter Incumbent | ||
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia candidate survey
Larson participated in a survey created by Ballotpedia. The survey was designed to let our readers know more about the candidates and feel confident that they are voting for the best person to represent them. The survey questions appear bolded, and Larson's responses follow below.
| “ | The people of Virginia's 31st House of Delegates district[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | To protect the people's liberty and property from the statists and special interests that would take it away.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | My campaign platform is designed to appeal to all freedom-loving people.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I look up to Henry David Thoreau, Ludwig von Mises, Ron Paul, and many others who dedicated their lives to putting forth dissident views. A legislator should be principled, honest, and responsive to citizens.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | For a New Liberty, by Murray Rothbard. It remains the classic libertarian primer and manifesto.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I believe what's most important is to free entrepreneurs to create jobs that will actually be productive, as opposed to government make-work jobs.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I hope to push Virginia politics in a more libertarian direction.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think that if we're going to have a governor, it would be more efficient to make him appointed by and accountable to the legislature, similarly to how a CEO is accountable to a corporate board. I would support a constitutional amendment to implement that.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think we need to deregulate healthcare and curb the out-of-control malpractice litigation that is making healthcare so expensive. I also support abolishing intellectual property rights, since they hinder the creation of derivative works, including drug and medical device patents based on existing patents.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I see that as more of a federal issue, since those who work for the military are federal employees.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think the state should abolish minimum wages and professional licensing, since those laws hurt unskilled workers and cause unemployment.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think we should abolish all laws against discrimination by employers and private property owners. Enforced integration increases tensions, conflict, and resentment among various ethnic and cultural groups.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | It might not be a bad idea to just ban protests altogether from public property, similarly to how the state bans political activists from posting campaign signs in medians and other public rights-of-way. There is nothing preventing protesters from protesting on private property.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I don't think the state has a role in childhood care, other than getting out of the way so that the market can come up with solutions.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I don't favor having a centralized economic policy. I favor a free market.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think we should take all the laws regarding victimless crimes off the books. I also would favor banishment as an alternative to incarceration in state prisons, with a possibility of returning once restitution has been paid. In some cases, a private bondsman or friends or family might be willing to lend the restitution money. I also think that offenders who have paid their restitution should not face barriers to employment in the form of laws that impose liability on employers for criminal acts they did not condone.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I mostly just browse Google News, the Virginia Public Access Project VaNews, and occasionally the "In the news" items on Wikipedia. I also see news items in various discussion boards I frequent, such as BoyChat or /lolipol/.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think we need to get rid of certain laws, like the restraining order laws, that treat men as criminals without affording them the same rights they would have in a criminal case. I also think we should get rid of laws that require men to pay child support without being allowed to spend parenting time with their children. I believe patriarchy is the natural order and that the laws should reflect that. Nobody has come up with a better system for ensuring happiness and familial stability than the old-fashioned order of treating women as the property of first their fathers and later their husbands.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think immigration should be a matter for private property owners to decide. It is up to them to decide whom they want to invite onto their property. I favor getting rid of the welfare state and limiting the right to vote to those who buy into the country, similarly to how one needs to buy into a corporation in order to vote in its elections.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | The state simply needs to get out of the way of innovation.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think that campaign finance is not a big deal, since these days the penniless candidates have a lot of force-multipliers they can use. I think we need to uphold the right of people to donate to whatever candidates they wish in whatever amounts they wish, including anonymously. Otherwise, we curtail property and free speech rights.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I want to legalize child pornography because I think that the laws are overly vague about what constitutes child pornography, and that they restrict freedom of speech.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think the current state of transportation is pretty bad in a lot of places. I think we should involve the private sector more in building highways and mass transit. When customers have to pay for their transportation, rather than being subsidized by the state, it will encourage them to live in areas that can be more efficiently served by the transportation network.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think it's a problem that can be somewhat alleviated by cannabis legalization.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think it should be up to private property owners to decide if they want to allow abortion of their property.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | If states are going to have representation in Congress, then I think Virginia should help DC get equal representation.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | None. I'm an anarcho-capitalist. I believe in funding all services through the free market.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | The state should stop subsidizing higher education. The subsidies allow costs to get out of control, so that the state has to keep increasing the subsidies.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think all of the monuments should be moved to private property.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think we should have single-occupancy bathrooms.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think the education system should be privated. The private sector can deliver a better education at lower cost, and different providers can accommodate a variety of needs.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | Polluters who interfere with others' right to the use and enjoyment of their property should be treated as aggressors.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | It's going to become increasingly high-tech. The market needs to be allowed to organically come up with ways to prepare for the future.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | If we are going to have districts, then I favor using a computer to draw them in the most compact and/or competitive way possible. I advocate getting rid of districts and instead letting each eligible voter choose a representative to vote on his behalf on legislation. This is similar to the system used by corporations, in which shareholders appoint proxies to vote on their behalf at the annual meeting.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think we should abolish all restrictions on firearms ownership and just treat them as we would any other dangerous tool, like an ax or a bottle of acid. It's up to the consumer to be careful and responsible in his use of it. Any restriction we place on the ability of people to buy guns could result in more violence because people aren't able to defend themselves.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | Privatization and deregulation of public safety providers will result in better public safety.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think the Commonwealth is adequately prepared.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I would favor getting rid of progressive taxation.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | Income disparities reflect the market's valuation of each person's services, creating incentives for people to use their resources to produce those products the consumers have voted for with their dollars. I don't see a problem with them.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | Life in the more rural areas tends to be more laid back, and the economy tends to be more agricultural. I don't see a need for policy to address different regions. They have the same need for free markets.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | The state should avoid funding any local pork barrel projects. Businesses should be self-supporting.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | The government should avoid forcing racial integration upon people. There should not be state-run schools (integrated or otherwise), and employers and property owners should not be subject to equal opportunity laws.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think the state should leave it to the feds to deal with them.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
| “ | I think there are a lot of special interests seeking subsidies and regulations to protect their business, that need to be told that they can't have their way at the expense of the general public.[9] | ” |
| —Nathan Larson | ||
Candidate website
Larson’s campaign website highlighted the following issues:[10]
| “ |
I am running on the single issue of legalizing Dignitas-style assisted suicide clinics in Virginia. |
” |
Noteworthy events
Death while charged with kidnapping and child pornography (2022)
On September 18, 2022, Larson died in federal custody while awaiting trial on felony charges including kidnapping and child pornography.[1]
On December 19, 2020, Larson was arrested in Denver, Colorado, while traveling with a missing 12-year-old girl from Fresno, California, that authorities said he kidnapped. The girl was reported missing on December 14. Detectives said that Larson met the girl online through social media before flying to California and convincing her to sneak out of her parents' house. Larson was arrested during a layover in Denver en route to Washington, D.C., and the girl was reunited with her family.[2]
Larson faced felony charges in Fresno County for kidnapping, child abduction, soliciting child pornography from a minor, and meeting a child for the intention of sex. He also faced a misdemeanor charge in Denver County for harboring a minor.[2] On February 11, 2021, Larson was extradited to California.[11]
On June 11, 2021, federal judge Dale A. Drozd approved federal prosecutors' request to have Larson evaluated for mental competency. "The government submits that there is reasonable cause to believe that the defendant may presently be suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense," prosecutors wrote in their request. Their request cited as evidence an “extended series of events that have continued to unfold, from the 1990s through this action’s last court appearance in April 2021.”[12]
A competency hearing for Larson took place in January 2022.[13] In March 2022, a federal judge ruled that Larson could defend himself against the charges.[14]
Internet forums advocating child pedophilia and violence against women (2018)
On May 31, 2018, the Huffington Post reported that Larson had admitted to creating two internet forums that advocated child pedophilia and violence against women. According to the publication, Larson "wrote numerous posts endorsing child rape and other forms of sexual abuse." In response to a question from the reporter regarding whether he was personally a pedophile or had only written stories related to pedophilia, Larson stated, "It’s a mix of both. When people go over the top there’s a grain of truth to what they say."
The websites were taken off the internet by their domain host on May 29. Larson told the Huffington Post that this was a violation of his free speech rights.[3]
Letter to Secret Service (2009)
In 2009, Larson pleaded guilty to sending a letter to the U.S. Secret Service stating his intent to kill either President George W. Bush (R) or President Barack Obama (D). He described the letter as an act of civil disobedience.[4]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Nathan Larson Virginia. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- State legislative elections, 2017
- Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2017
- State legislative special elections, 2017
- Virginia House of Delegates
- Virginia State Legislature
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 FOX 10 Phoenix, "Nathan Larson, admitted pedophilia advocate who once ran for political office, dies in custody," October 18, 2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 USA Today, "Former Virginia congressional candidate arrested for 'extremely disturbing' plan to kidnap 12-year-old girl, police say," December 19, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Huffington Post, "Congressional Candidate In Virginia Admits He’s A Pedophile," May 31, 2018
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Washington Post, "He threatened to kill the president. Now he is seeking public office.," March 8, 2017
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Candidacy Requirements for the November 7, 2017 General Election," accessed March 21, 2017
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "2017 November General Unofficial Results," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "2017 June Democratic Primary," accessed July 6, 2017
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "2017 June Republican Primary," accessed July 6, 2017
- ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 9.16 9.17 9.18 9.19 9.20 9.21 9.22 9.23 9.24 9.25 9.26 9.27 9.28 9.29 9.30 9.31 9.32 9.33 9.34 9.35 9.36 9.37 9.38 9.39 9.40 9.41 9.42 9.43 9.44 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ larsonfordelegate.com, "FAQ," accessed August 14, 2017
- ↑ 9News, "Child abduction suspect extradited to California after Denver arrest," February 12, 2021
- ↑ Fresno Bee, "Fresno federal judge orders mental evaluation for pedophile accused of kidnapping child," June 11, 2021
- ↑ Insider, "The site authorities say Madelyn Allen's suspected kidnapper used has been popular among men charged with sexual abuse," December 23, 2021
- ↑ Fresno Bee, "Admitted pedophile caught with Fresno girl, 12, can represent self in court, judge says," March 5, 2022
