A new organization calling itself the Free State Party has launched in New Hampshire, presenting itself as a private network for “free staters” who hold patriotic, nationalist, pro-natal, or right-wing views.
The effort was launched this month by Jeremy Kauffman, the recently elected chair of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire. Despite its name, the group says it does not intend to function as an electoral political party. Instead, it describes itself as a private organization connecting individuals across New Hampshire involved in various business, politics, and cultural backgrounds who hold similar views and concerns.
Speaking at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center down the street from the annual New Hampshire Liberty Forum, Kauffman addressed a crowd the organization later estimated at more than 200 attendees. He told the audience he had raised between $250,000 and $300,000 to support the network by personally contacting major donors.
He also identified several figures involved in the organization’s leadership. Members of its board of directors reportedly include Jason Osborne, the Republican majority leader in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, and state Rep. Travis Corcoran, a Republican representing Hillsborough District 28.
Kauffman alluded to another potential board member whose name “rhymes with Meter Feel,” though he later wrote online that the remark was intended for “rumor purposes.”
Other individuals involved with the group include Bill Barger, a member of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire’s executive committee who is assisting with organizing, and Jeffrey Creem, who is serving as political director and was previously affiliated with the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance. Additional individuals mentioned include Daniel Conan and Dennis Pratt.
The organization’s website states that existing political and cultural systems in the West are no longer functioning effectively and must eventually be replaced by new networks and institutions. It argues that modern political systems, while “legible,” have been “fully exploited” by media organizations, nonprofit institutions, and other established power structures.
“What we build will not look precisely like anything that came before. There is no going back. We will never RETVRN,” the organization states on its website. “We can learn from the past, but we must create something new.”
The site also indicates that “Free State Party” is a trade name of Aristillus Corp., a corporation registered in New Hampshire and promoted as an organization for “people with pine tree hearts and moon landing brains.” Aristillus Corp.’s website includes commentary critical of Western neoliberalism and states that defending boundaries is “a precondition to liberty.”
The group has since begun organizing a series of public discussions involving figures from the broader libertarian and Free State communities. It is also hosting private events for members, with invitations extended to individuals who participate in at least one open event and are subsequently approached by the organization.
Later this month, the organization plans to host a conversation between Kauffman and investor and activist Bruce Fenton addressing immigration policy. A second event planned for April will feature Kauffman and former Austin Petersen discussing the merits and drawbacks of libertarian nationalism.
Kauffman is doing this in attempt to replace, delegitimize or weaken FSP.
Free State Project.
FSP kicked him off the board of directors and he wants his revenge.