Written by In April of 2012 I moved to New Hampshire, joining hundreds of other libertarians in a political migration commonly referred to as The Free State Project. There is a corporationĀ one might consider to be at the head of this, known as the Free State Project, herein referred to as FSP inc. Differentiating between the political migration and the corporation is an important thing to do, since the corporation has little to do with the effort at this point. They are mostly a fundraising shell to pay the bar tabs of certain individuals who came to be in control of the corporation, which is fueled (I speculate) by Koch Bros. money.
In 2013, I was made persona non grata by FSP Inc. for “advocating violence“. When confronted with the fact that I’d said nothingĀ all that different from Larken Rose, a featured speaker at one of their events, many an excuse was thrown about, including charges of drunk driving, sexism, racism, whatever nonsense the individual asked at the moment came up with off the top of their heads.
The implication here was obvious to anyone who bothered to look at it. I was expelled from the organization in a dishonest manner, for political purposes. The FSP held a panel on violence against government agents the year after I was expelled, featuring Larken Rose and Josie Wales, who have both advocated things similar to what I had advocated. FSP President Carla Gericke was drunk at the panel, as she usually is, so claims about “drunk driving” were hypocritical at best, and largely fabricated in any case – not to mention the fact that I had quit drinking by the time I was expelled.
But, factions being what they are in political organizations, the lies were left to stand. In any case, it didn’t trouble me too much. All FSP Inc. did was draw more attention to my statements and advance my purposes in so doing. I still live in New Hampshire. I’m still politically active. Aside from being uninvitedĀ fromĀ certain gatherings organized by the corporation, it had absolutely zero impact on my life or work.
Fast forward to today, and a similar story presents itself. That of Ian Freeman, host of the nationally syndicated broadcast talk radio show, Free Talk Live. For over a decade, Ian has used the power of his microphone to attract movers to New Hampshire for the Free State Project. He has attended and promoted FSP Inc.Ā events, donated money and airtime, volunteered and been an active participant in their efforts.
So why, after more than a decade of loyal and dedicated service, have they expelled him from their organization, and barred him from their events?