John Anthony Castro, a Republican with a decades-long aspiration for political influence, has set his sights on two ambitious goals: Suing Donald Trump to disqualify him for the events that took place on January 6, 2021, and running for president of the United States.
Castro’s political journey is not just about electoral victory; it’s a passionate pursuit to unify a nation that is divided.
In Castro’s early life he presented himself in a “radical” way and worked on reforming issues that occurred in his hometown. Throughout his youth he started an organization on campus called Students in Democratic Action. The organization worked on building relationships with the community through distributing food to the elderly and participating in neighborhood cleanup projects.
Later, Castro got involved in anti-corruption campaigns and additionally led a living wage campaign in Laredo, Texas, where they increased the minimum wage for city workers.
After working as an advocate for years, Castro decided to enter the political arena. At the age of 19, he launched a bid for County Commissioner which made him the youngest person to ever run for office in the history of South Texas, he said.
“I had gone to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to get trained by the United States of America. I became a certified union organizer,” said Castro. “When I came back, I organized the municipal sanitation workers in Laredo, Texas, so we started a union for them. And then that’s when I decided to run for county commissioner.”
After spending years on the political scene and unsuccessfully running for several political offices, Castro decided to take a step back in 2006.
“I got married in 2007 and I never touched politics again. I didn’t want to. I went to law school, got out, and then built a very successful tax firm, generating about two to four million a year,” said Castro. “I was living very lavishly and very comfortably, and I kind of didn’t want to make any more waves until Trump’s issue in Charleston.”
In Charleston, Trump lashed out against Democrats who have questioned his handling of the coronavirus threat, calling their criticism a new “hoax” designed to undermine his leadership.
Castro then began putting his own money and time to work on The Resistance, a political movement that protested the presidency of Donald Trump. He put in his time and money behind the scenes focusing on the criminality and intolerance of Trumpism.
After the U.S. capitol attack, Castro filed challenges to Trump’s ballot placement in 27 states, claiming that Trump’s involvement in the insurrection violates the 14th Amendment.
“I decided in late 2021, that I’m going to do this myself. And, I’m going to go ahead and I’m going to run for president. I’m going to get my name on the ballot,” said Castro.
With Castro running as a presidential candidate, his campaign focuses on energy independence jobs, tax-free retirement, healthcare for all, and a government Pre-K to PhD plan.
“One of the things that I want to push for is hydroelectric energy, we have a lot of rivers, we have a lot of waterfalls, they can all be converted and still maintain their glorious beauty, but they can be converted to produce energy, a lot of energy.”
Castro is a strong advocate for a balanced education system and believes it should come out of the government tab. On his website he outlines an economic plan that explains how the U.S. can focus on the public school system, to make Pre-K to PhD feasible and free.
“I do believe that we should get in line with the rest of the industrialized countries in the world. Which is that money is not an inhibition,” said Castro.
On Jan. 9, Castro was arrested on charges alleging he filed 17 sets of false tax documents to the IRS.
When providing details of the case, the Northern District of Texas published a press release statement.
“On March 14, 2018, Mr. Castro filed the agent’s tax return claiming $29,339 in fraudulent deductions. The IRS issued a refund of $6,007, Mr. Castro received $2,999 for his services and the agent received the remaining amount of $3,008. As Castro told the taxpayer, he would have received only a $300 deduction had he used another tax preparer,” stated in the Northern District of Texas press release.
Now, Castro is facing charges for 33 counts related to assisting in the creation of inaccurate tax returns. Prosecutors alleged that he operated a virtual tax preparation enterprise, supplying customers with tax returns that exceeded their actual entitlements.
According to the press release, if convicted on all counts, Castro will face up to 99 years in federal prison – 3 years per count.
“When people are like, ‘aren’t you scared of taking on Trump and all the death threats that are coming my way to me and my family?’ I’ve been dealing with this since you know, I was 19 years old. This is nothing new,” said Castro.
Following his arrest, Castro did not respond to requests for a comment.
Castro still plans on running for the 2024 election and still has a goal to hold Donald Trump responsible. He will be back in court on Jan. 17.
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