Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura has revealed that he’s "gone off the grid" south of the border to prevent U.S. spy drones discovering his whereabouts.
While talking to CNBC’s Closing Bell on Tuesday, the former professional wrestler said he had gone into hiding and was staying in an "undisclosed location In Mexico."
He said, "I’m off the grid. I move about with my TV show, so the drones won’t find me, and you won’t know exactly where I am."
Ignoring the host’s question about whether his remarks were a hoax, Ventura maintained that he planned to stay under the radar as long as he has enough solar power to reach the satellite so he can produce his online TV show "Off the Grid", which airs on Ora TV.
He implied that there was a conspiracy by the U.S. government to keep tabs on American citizens.
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"I view the United States today much like East Berlin. And I’m off the grid. I’ve tried for 20 years to warn the country about the Democrats and Republicans, and nobody’s listening."
After years being on "the inside, looking out," Ventura said he was now viewing the country "from the outside looking in." He went on, "I now view the United States from the outside, and I don’t like what I see.
"You know what the favorite T-shirt was off the grid down here a couple years ago? A picture of (former president) George Bush, and it said weapon of mass destruction. Is that the way we want the United States portrayed throughout the world? I don’t think so."
Last month the former Navy SEAL claimed that fugitive NSA leaker Edward Snowden was a hero and a patriot for blowing the whistle on the extent of the agency’ surveillance of Americans.
Ventura, who served as Minnesota governor from 1999 to 2003, is also considering a long-shot independent run for the White House. And he vowed that the first thing he would do as president would be to pardon Snowden.
According to Politico, Ventura also told CNBC that he’s helping to stop Mexicans crossing into the U.S. as illegal citizens by giving them work.
"I’m a job creator," he added. "And I’m not only creating jobs, putting Mexicans to work, I’m stopping them from running across the border now and taking our jobs, because my whole staff said that if I wasn’t down here, and I didn’t have them, they’d be coming up to America, looking for jobs."
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