The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire is calling for political violence once again, this time targeting Democrats throughout the Granite State. The group, which has previously singled out Vice President Kamala Harris and a former state lawmaker, took aim Tuesday at Democrats in a since-deleted post on X. "We openly support the assassination of basically every elected Democrat in New Hampshire," the post read.
"But if you don't have the balls to do that, you should probably GOP." Messages seeking comment from the organization were not immediately returned Thursday, but the state party later issued a clarification on Wednesday. "Some people seem to be misreading this," the group posted on X. "Few, if any, Americans actually have the balls to kill anyone, no matter how much tyranny they experience.
We even went through Covid without a single assassination! The point is since no one wants to kill people, we have to vote." The unorthodox message had been quickly condemned by elected officials throughout New Hampshire, including Representative Chris Pappas. "Rhetoric calling for political assassination has no place in New Hampshire or our country — something we should all be able to agree on regardless of our political beliefs," Pappas said in a statement Wednesday.
"We work out our differences through the democratic process where we engage in civil debate and seek common ground whenever possible." Pappas, a Democrat elected in 2019, urged his colleagues to condemn the threats while calling on social media platforms to enforce terms of use prohibiting threats of violence. "Our citizen-led government is a model for the nation, and we must ensure everyone can engage in democracy without fear of intimidation or violence," Pappas said. New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte characterized the post as "irresponsible and dangerous" while calling on the author to be prosecuted by authorities.
"Violent rhetoric has no place in our politics, and threats like this should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Ayotte told NHPR in a statement. The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office is aware of the post, but declined to comment further, NHPR reported. The state party, chaired by Jeremy Kauffman, lost its national affiliation in May after violating rules and ideals.
The group's social media posts previously attracted the attention of law enforcement in 2024 after calling for Harris' assassination and claimed it was "perfectly permissible to kill" a former executive councilor for proposing a state income tax earlier this year, according to the outlet. Representative Maggie Goodlander, a Democrat who was elected last year, said Tuesday's post fell far short of embodying the ideals of liberty. "This is anti-American," Goodlander told WHDH.
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