For Immediate Release:
May 27th, 2026
On the Recent Disaffiliation of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire: A Continuation of Last Year’s Message on Conduct, Culture, and the Future of the Liberty Movement
Last year, I issued a public statement expressing concern over the rise of inflammatory rhetoric, dehumanization, and hostility emerging from official and affiliated channels within the liberty movement. At the time, I warned that cruelty, disguised as boldness, and outrage, disguised as activism, were damaging both our credibility and our internal culture.
Unfortunately, many dismissed those concerns as exaggerated or unnecessary. Over the past year, however, we have witnessed the continued escalation of precisely the type of culture that the statement warned against, particularly from prominent voices and delegates associated with the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire.
What began as online provocation and performative outrage has increasingly evolved into something far more reckless and destructive. Public rhetoric normalized personal degradation, hostility toward women, and open contempt for basic civic norms. Repeated calls to repeal the 19th Amendment, statements suggesting women should not vote, and the routine dehumanization of political opponents and internal critics created an atmosphere where cruelty was rewarded instead of condemned. That culture did not remain online.
At the recent Libertarian National Convention, delegates and attendees witnessed conduct that should deeply concern anyone who cares about the future credibility of the liberty movement. Reports and eyewitness accounts described Nazi salutes directed toward the Chair of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, escalating confrontations between delegates, and physical altercations involving members over the removal of freely distributed flyers. One delegate was arrested for assault and their Chair, Jeremy Kauffman was escorted out of the Convention under the order of then Chair Steven Nekhaila. In response to these and other countless violations of the Non-Aggression Principle, along with acts that violated the National bylaws (such as formally nominating Donald Trump as their Presidential candidate), the newly elected national leadership voted 15-2-1 to disaffiliate Libertarian Party of New Hampshire.
A movement that continually glorifies outrage, humiliation, and antagonism will eventually produce escalation in the real world. When people are conditioned to see others not as fellow human beings with differing views, but as enemies deserving ridicule or removal, the line between rhetoric and physical confrontation begins to erode. The escalation to violence is not random. It is the natural progression of a culture that has abandoned restraint and begun rewarding recklessness.
Free speech remains a foundational principle of a free society, and I will continue to defend it unequivocally. But defending free speech does not require celebrating irresponsibility, intimidation, or dehumanization. Rights and responsibility are not opposites. A serious political movement requires both.
The American people are exhausted by the dysfunction, tribalism, and performative outrage dominating modern politics. Millions of politically homeless Americans are searching for leadership rooted in principle, personal responsibility, respect for individual rights and human liberty, and the ability to govern with maturity and discipline. They are not looking for chaos disguised as courage.
If the liberty movement wishes to grow into a credible force capable of leading this country forward, it must reject the normalization of hostility and recklessness within its own culture. We cannot claim to stand for liberty while allowing intimidation, degradation, and escalation to define our public image. Last year, I warned that words matter because culture matters. The events we are witnessing today only reinforces that truth.
In Liberty,
The New Jersey Libertarian Party
Bruno Pereira
Chair, New Jersey Libertarian Party
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