According to Wikipedia, he ran for Congress in 2010 on a promise to get rid of federal income taxes and had become involved with several Tea Party organizations.
So basically he went from being a corrupt, protectionist Democratic HP to being a regressive de facto Republican HP.
He supported abolishing the IRS and getting rid of the income tax for years while he was still in Congress. As far as I see he hadn't really changed much on policy but he found comfort in the Tea Party once he was released from prison.
He also found support from Stormfront and several other white supremacist/neo nazi web sites. Sean Hannity was another cheerleader.
Major HP
Beam Him Up!