The X account of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, a former affiliate of the national Libertarian Party, has been suspended after state officials called for its removal over posts supporting violence against Democrats.
The controversy leading to the suspension began last Tuesday, October 13, when the organization suggested in a post later preserved by InDepthNH in a screenshot that libertarians who did not intend to vote in November should instead make plans to kill people, asking whether they had a plan “to kill millions of Democrats.” It added that without such a plan, they would continue voting in the meantime.
New Hampshire House Democratic Leader Alexis Simpson condemned the remarks in a formal statement the following day and called for the account’s permanent suspension. The former Libertarian Party affiliate responded with another post stating that New Hampshire would be a better and freer place when Simpson was dead, adding that she could move away before then.
Several other state officials similarly condemned the remarks, including Republican House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, House Speaker Sherman Packard, and Gov. Kelly Ayotte. On October 15, Ayotte went so far as to send a letter to X’s head of safety, Michael O’Herlihy, requesting that the platform remove the posts and suspend the account for repeated violations of its Violent Content Policy.
“X’s Violent Content Policy explicitly prohibits threats to inflict physical harm on others, including threats to kill or seriously injure individuals,” Ayotte wrote. “The policy also prohibits inciting violence and expressing a desire for others to experience physical harm. Threats directed at elected officials in New Hampshire violate these standards, and X’s enforcement guidelines provide for the removal of such content and potential suspension of accounts responsible for serious violations.”
Ayotte further called the rhetoric “completely unacceptable” and said it had no place in New Hampshire civil discourse, imploring the social media platform to remove the posts and suspend the account immediately. X suspended the account the following day, and it remains suspended as of this article’s publication.
In a public response Sunday, LPNH Chair Jeremy Kauffman, writing from his own account, accused X of yielding to government pressure and engaging in political censorship, saying the organization was considering legal action against the state government. He also directed followers to his separate Free State Party project launched earlier this year, which he said would be substantially different from LPNH.
“I will always celebrate evil perishing. Many Free Staters will. Part of the benefit of being in New Hampshire is not being trapped in the rotten egalitarian moral framework that has become pervasive worldwide,” Kauffman wrote. “It is good when the democrats who wish to enslave Free State children die. All Free Staters should feel comfortable saying this with their head high.”
Kauffman nevertheless called on supporters to vote Republican in November and refrain from criticizing other Republican officials who had condemned LPNH. He equated their criticism to “kayfabe,” a professional wrestling term for staged conflict, claiming that elected Free Staters did not actually oppose the organization.
“I know it sucks and feels gross,” Kauffman wrote. “But the time for revenge against Ayotte is years down the road, not this November.”
The suspension is the latest in a series of controversies involving the organization’s social media activity. In September, LPNH said it supported the “assassination of basically every elected Democrat in New Hampshire,” adding that those unwilling to act should instead vote Republican. X temporarily restricted the account following those remarks, although the organization later regained its posting privileges.
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