The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, which was disaffiliated by the national Libertarian Party earlier this year, said this week that it supports the “assassination of basically every elected Democrat” in the state, drawing condemnation from U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander and others.
“We openly support the assassination of basically every elected Democrat in New Hampshire,” the organization posted on X Tuesday. “But if you don’t have the balls to do that then you should probably vote GOP.”
The post garnered hundreds of comments and reposts by Wednesday morning and drew largely negative responses. Among the more prominent nationally-focused individuals criticizing the group were political commentator Brian Krassenstein and Alyssa Farah Griffin, a co-host of The View, who shared the party’s remarks and tagged the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s account. As of this article’s publication, the post remains up.
Editorial note: Since this article’s original publication, the original X post has been removed. Numerous other political figures and organizations, both in New Hampshire and elsewhere, have also responded to the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire’s remarks beyond those included here. More on those statements can be read here.
The post also attracted attention from New Hampshire House Democratic Leader Alexis Simpson, who, according to InDepthNH, notified the Legislature’s Director of Security and the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office about the statement. U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander, who represents the 2nd Congressional District, also condemned the statement and called for state and federal law enforcement to investigate.
“I condemn, with every fiber of my being, the threats of and calls for murder from the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire,” Goodlander said on social media. “Every freedom-loving American — Independents, Republicans, Democrats, and, yes, Libertarians — must do the same.”
Goodlander called on the New Hampshire Attorney General and federal law enforcement to “fully investigate these threats and hold anyone who broke the law accountable,” adding that threats of murder “have no place in New Hampshire or anywhere in America.”
The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire is no longer affiliated with the national Libertarian Party. The Libertarian National Committee voted in May to revoke the organization’s affiliate status, pointing in part to its endorsement of Republican Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential election and what the national committee called the promotion of “anti-libertarian positions.”
The Libertarian Party’s Judicial Committee unanimously upheld the national committee’s disaffiliation in August. However, despite that vote, the group continues to operate under the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire name.
The national committee has since recognized a new state party in its place, voting earlier this month to name the Granite State Libertarian Party as its New Hampshire affiliate over another organization seeking national recognition. The new affiliate also rejected the former affiliate’s latest statement, stating its own opposition to political violence.
“All members of our party must certify they agree with the following statement: ‘I certify that I oppose the initiation of force to achieve political or social goals,’” the Granite State Libertarian Party said. “Our organization opposes political violence and has no association with the NHGOP caucus that misrepresents itself as the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire.”
Tuesday’s post also follows at least two previous incidents in which the former affiliate used its social media accounts to endorse or defend the permissibility of killing political figures. The first took place in September 2024 during the presidential campaign, when the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire posted that “Anyone who murders Kamala Harris would be an American hero.” Harris was vice president and the Democratic presidential nominee at the time.
The party deleted the post but continued posting statements defending political violence in certain circumstances, including writing, “The point of the second amendment is to shoot and kill tyrannous politicians.” The Secret Service said it was aware of the Harris post at the time, while New Hampshire state officials said they were communicating with federal law enforcement.
The organization again drew attention in March after former Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky and other advocates introduced an education funding proposal that included a 3 percent income tax and a statewide property tax. The party posted that Volinsky was “threatening the forced conscription of millions of hours of labor” and that, “Under libertarian ethical theory, it is perfectly permissible to kill him.” It added in parentheses that the statement was “not an encouragement to do so, as we wish to follow the X TOS.”
Volinsky contacted law enforcement following the post, and the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office confirmed at the time that it was aware of the statement. House Democratic Leader Alexis Simpson also condemned the rhetoric then, saying, “Calling for the murder because of political disagreement crosses a clear line.” InDepthNH later reported that no state action was taken over the post.
Whatever happened to the NAP?