The former Russian arms dealer traded in a prison swap for WBNA star Brittney Griner is now running for political office.

Viktor Bout, 56, is running for the regional legislature in the nation's far-right Russian Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Former Russian arms dealer traded for Brittney Griner runs for office under far-right political group https://t.co/IlRm8JuXpG

— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 3, 2023

His prison sentence

"The arms dealer, once known as the "merchant of death," had been serving a sentence in the U.S. after his 2008 arrest in Thailand. He was freed in December 2022 as part of a prisoner swap for Griner, who had been sentenced to nine years in prison for possession of vape cartridges containing cannabinoids," Fox News reported.

"Bout served just 10 years of his 25-year sentence in the U.S." the report added.

‘Merchant of Death’ Viktor Bout runs for political office in Russia https://t.co/0DpN8uZw39 pic.twitter.com/81uNEV86BZ

— New York Post (@nypost) July 4, 2023

His run for office

"In a Telegram video posted a week after his release, Leonid Slutsky, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, welcomed Bout into the ranks of the organization," the New York Post reported.

“[He is] a courageous man who has become a symbol of a struggle for principles, for spiritual and moral foundations of today’s Russia,” Slutzky said.

Viktor Bout, the notorious Russian arms dealer known as the "Merchant of Death" who the U.S. exchanged in a prisoner swap for WNBA star Brittney Griner last December, has been approved as a candidate for local elections in Russia by a far-right party. https://t.co/IBUID4Ti1O

— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 3, 2023

Merchant of Death

"Before his arrest in 2008, Bout helped fuel civil wars across the world by supplying sophisticated weapons to fighting factions — sometimes to both sides in bloody conflicts," CBS News reported.

"His arms-dealing work earned him his infamous nickname. Bout was taken into custody as part of a Drug Enforcement Administration sting operation that spanned three continents," it added.

Many American leaders blasted the Biden administration's trade between Griner and Bout, claiming that the move gave Russia far more than the U.S. received.

The WNBA star served several months in jail before returning to the U.S. where she rejoined her team.

The latest update should anger Americans upset over the latest political move in Bout's political effort that will go to Russian voters on Sept. 10 in the election for the Krasnoyarsk City Council.