Rep. Ted Yoho’s (R-Fla.) primary challenger moonlights as a vampire.
{mosads}At least, attorney Jacob Rush has dressed and acted like a vampire, along with dozens of other characters, as a part of a role-playing group known as the Mind’s Eye Society.
According to local political site SaintPetersblog.com, Rush, who’s running as a conservative alternative to Tea Party favorite Yoho, has lived a rich fantasy life as part of the group.
SaintPetersblog describes the society as “a nationwide community of gothic-punk role-players who come together to take on personas of vampires and other supernatural beings (known as Kindred), dealing with night-to-night struggles ‘against their own bestial natures, hunters, and each other.’ ”
The society has strict rules and elected officers, and Russ was listed on a wiki site as a founding member of the local chapter of the society and a “Regional Storyteller,” a mid-level leadership position for the society.
He participated in live-action and table games as dozens of different characters, with aliases like Chazz Darling, Staas van der Winst, Johan Gambrys, Zane Daily, The Kriesler and Archbishop Kettering.
But his involvement in the society wasn’t just fun and games. Under the moniker Chazz Darling, Rush posted an explicit post to another role-player that he “wanted to stick my d–k in your mouth to shut you up while I snorted a line off my new machete,” warning “you shouldn’t believe everything that people tell you or you’re going to end up naked and sore, tied to the floor of a van marked ‘Free Candy,’ ” according to SaintPetersBlog — a post that has since been deleted.
He also posted a series of bizarre pictures to the society’s wiki site, including a picture of bloody angel wings, a man chained and gagged and of himself dressed as his alter-egos.
Rush dismissed his engagement with the society as just a “gaming and theater hobby,” and accused Yoho’s campaign of “mischaracterizing” the experience.
“As a straight shooter, yes, I play and have played video games, role playing games, board games, Yahtzee, Clue, and I have acted in dozens of theatre productions,” Rush said in a statement.
“Bottom line – There is nothing wrong with being a gamer. It’s kinda nerdy, but North Central Florida deserves a legitimate debate on the issues instead of Ted Yoho’s usual sideshow distractions,” he added.