Frank Szabo, the ill-fated Republican candidate for Hillsborough County Sheriff, announced in a Facebook post Sunday evening, Nov. 11, that he had left the country.

“If it were not for the campaign, we would have left much earlier,” the note reads. “After having lost the primary, it became a certainty.”

Szabo, who proved to be one of the more controversial figures of the 2012 election cycle, made national headlines when he said to WMUR that he would use deadly force to prevent an abortion.

“I would hope that it wouldn’t come to that, as with any situation where someone is in danger, but again, specifically talking about elective abortions and late-term abortions, that is an act that needs to get stopped,” Szabo said at the time.

Earlier in the campaign he had claimed he would arrest anyone involved in performing an abortion.
“Abortion on demand is murder,” he said in a press release. “Once elected, Sherriff Szabo will arrest anyone involved in the murder of a Citizen of Hillsborough County.”

Szabo’s comments prompted House Speaker Bill O’Brien to call for him to drop out of the race. Szabo later apologized for his strong language.

Szabo, who had no experience in law enforcement or elected office, lost his primary bid to incumbent Jim Hardy, who won a sixth term on Election Day.

According to a video posted on the website bluenewhampshire.com, Szabo was the Pennsylvania state coordinator for the We the People Congress, a pro-Tea Party group. He became active in politics during the candidacy of Ross Perot, and moved to Goffstown from Pennsylvania in June 2011 as part of the Free State movement.

Though Szabo did not announce what country he had relocated to, published reports said he is in the South American nation of Chile.