The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, which is unaffiliated with the national party, received widespread condemnation Thursday for a social media post supporting violence against Democratic leaders.
The post made Wednesday on X said, “We openly support the assassination of basically every elected Democrat in New Hampshire. But if you don’t have the balls to do that then you should probably vote GOP.”
It also had a follow-up post: “LPNH believes that New Hampshire is healthier and freer when anyone who would enact an income tax fears for their life.”
In March, LPNH posted on X that killing former N.H. Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky would be permissible because of his support for an income tax. In 2024, it had a post praising anyone who assassinated then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte decried Wednesday’s post.
“This type of behavior is irresponsible and dangerous,” she said in a statement. “Violent rhetoric has no place in our politics, and threats like this should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
A spokesman for the N.H. Attorney General’s office emailed a brief statement:
“We can confirm that the New Hampshire Department of Justice is aware of the social media posts. We would not be in a position to comment further at this time.”
LPNH Chairman Jeremy Kauffman posted Thursday a notification from X that the service had temporarily locked the LPNH account for breaking the rules of the social media site. The rules of X prohibit posts “explicitly threatening, inciting, glorifying, or expressing desire for violence.”
The national Libertarian Party said in its own post that it opposes political violence, had ended its affiliation with the New Hampshire organization in May and had designated the Granite State Libertarian Party as its affiliate in the state.
“All members of the Libertarian Party are required to take the Libertarian Party Membership Pledge: ‘I hereby certify that I oppose the initiation of force as a means of achieving political or social goals,’” the national organization said.
“Political and social change must be pursued through peaceful, voluntary means — not violence, threats, or aggression.”
Since its decertification in May, it’s not clear how many people still belong to the LPNH, which said it had 130 credentialed members at its annual convention in March.
Deputy Speaker of the N.H. House Steven Smith, R-Charlestown, and House Minority Leader Alexis Simpson condemned the LPNH post.
Smith called it “unhinged and unacceptable.
“No matter your party, political violence has zero place in New Hampshire, period. We need to drop this garbage, get back to regular debating, and settle our differences the right way.”
Simpson said “every leader has a responsibility to reject this dangerous rhetoric. No one should fear for their life because of their beliefs or their decision to serve the people of New Hampshire.”
N.H. Rep. Nicholas Germana of Keene, the Democratic deputy House floor leader, said that while the NHLP comments “do not represent most libertarians, and I know they do not represent most of the Republicans I work with in Concord, the fact is that this kind of rhetoric has been normalized within the GOP from the President of the United States to the NH House majority leader.”
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