Branding from the Libertarian Party’s 2024 national convention made a prominent appearance at the Republican National Committee’s first-ever midterm convention, drawing criticism from the national party and disagreement among Libertarian National Committee members over how to respond.
The Republican National Committee held the two-day convention this past Wednesday and Thursday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, with the event being its first national convention organized specifically around a midterm election. Unlike those conventions held in presidential cycles, where traditional nominations and platform amendments are made, the event largely served as a rally aimed at promoting Republican candidates and President Donald Trump’s record ahead of the November elections.
The imagery appeared on Thursday during remarks made by Ross Ulbricht to convention delegates, filling the main screen behind the stage. It featured the “Become Ungovernable” design used for the Libertarian Party’s 2024 convention in Washington, D.C., including the party’s porcupine logo and photographs of “Free Ross” signs.
Speaking in front of Republican delegates, Ulbricht thanked Trump for pardoning him and spoke about his years in prison and the associated campaign for his release. Ulbricht was sentenced in 2015 to life in federal prison without the possibility of parole in connection with his operation of Silk Road, an online marketplace he founded that operated through the Tor network and became widely associated with the sale of illegal drugs and other prohibited goods. His release later became a long-running cause among Libertarians and other criminal justice reform advocates.
In his speech, Ulbricht also pushed back against criticism that Trump had lost focus on the cause of liberty, arguing that his own pardon was not the president’s only action favorable to libertarian priorities. Among a number of examples he used as a justification, Ulbricht mentioned other clemency decisions made by the administration, Trump’s support for ending government pressure on banks to deny services to Americans over legal purchases or Bitcoin usage, and efforts by the administration to stop the use of “counterterrorism tools” against parents who spoke at school board meetings, all of which he praised as “victories for liberty.”
Video of the event began circulating online late Thursday evening, with the Libertarian Party accusing Republicans on social media of being “so desperate to appear Libertarian” that they put the party’s logo on their convention screens.
“Still trying to convince people you’re libertarians?” the party added. “Pro-tip: like Trump’s sneakers… no one’s buying it.”
Former LNC Chair Angela McArdle appeared to take credit for the display shortly afterward. In an X post sharing the Libertarian Party’s remarks, McArdle wrote, “I did it 🙂 You’re welcome.”
Both the appearance and McArdle’s comment prompted concern and disagreement among LNC members over how the party should respond—if it should respond at all. One such member, Region 5 Representative Susan Hogarth, questioned the use of the branding without consultation and later suggested invoicing whoever was responsible for its use, though she clarified that she was not advocating a lawsuit.
“Someone suggested to me that we simply invoice the entity (GOP?) that put on the convention for unlicensed use of our media,” Hogarth said, calling the idea worth exploring. Region 8 Representative Tyler Danke later suggested a $10,000 invoice.
At-Large Representative Richard Longstreth similarly favored consulting the party’s legal counsel, later explaining that doing so could identify options such as a cease-and-desist or invoice without necessarily pursuing litigation. “Talking to counsel tells us viable options and pitfalls to avoid, both legally and otherwise,” he added.
However, their views were not universal, with other members contending the party should instead have taken advantage of the exposure. Region 5 Alternate Travis Bost acknowledged that the use of the logo was “questionable” but called the party’s social media response a “near-complete miss.”
He was joined by Region 1 Representative Austin Martin, who argued that current leaders had squandered political ties with Trump and Republicans that developed around the 2024 convention. Martin also accused his peers of “helping the establishment duopoly while doing active damage to the Liberty movement at a greater rate than any of our actual enemies.” Region 6 Representative Alfa Shaw similarly said the party should have instead looked for ways to attract new members from the Republican audience and that the “world is not all about Donald Trump.”
Region 4 Alternate Barbara Engelhardt offered a more hands-off approach, arguing that the party should leave Ulbricht out of the dispute entirely. “He was unjustly imprisoned; we helped free him. That’s enough,” she said. As of this article’s original publication on Substack, the LNC discussion remains ongoing.
The Libertarian Party had formally supported a pardon for Ulbricht for years, with delegates at its 2016 national convention adopting a resolution by voice vote supporting a “full pardon for political prisoners and heroes, specifically Ross Ulbricht and Private Chelsea Manning,” followed by a 2018 resolution specifically calling on Trump, then serving his first term, to grant Ulbricht a full pardon.
The campaign took a front row role at the party’s 2024 national convention, where Trump attended the Washington event as an invited speaker and promised that, if elected, he would commute Ulbricht’s sentence. Trump ultimately went further after returning to office, granting Ulbricht a full and unconditional pardon in January 2025.
I proposed we send them a public tank you note blast for the free publicity, because that would guarantee they wouldn’t do it again. Kill them with kindness. No need to sue them, just make them blush badly.
At least that branding incorporates the ridiculous “chicken on a stick” logo instead of something actually the public would actually identify with the LP, like the Statue of Liberty or the porcupine. I’m glad to see the ugly thing finally prove useful in some way.