Free State Project#New Hampshire Free Press

The FSP mission statement, adopted in 2005, states: {{Cquote|The Free State Project is an agreement among 20,000 pro-liberty activists to move to New Hampshire, where they will exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of government is the protection of life, liberty, and property. The success of the Project would likely entail reductions in taxation and regulation, reforms at all levels of government to expand individual rights and free markets, and a restoration of constitutional federalism, demonstrating the benefits of liberty to the rest of the nation and the world.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fsp.org/ |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130118215151/http://freestateproject.org/about/mission.php |url-status=dead|title=The Free State Project | Liberty Lives in New Hampshire|archivedate=January 18, 2013|website=Free State Project}}}}

"Life, liberty, and property" are rights that were enumerated in the October 1774 Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress{{cite web|title=Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress|url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/resolves.asp |date= October 14, 1774 |work= Avalon Project |publisher= Yale Law School | access-date=November 11, 2010|quote=That the inhabitants of the English colonies in North-America, by the immutable laws of nature, the principles of the English constitution, and the several charters or compacts, have the following RIGHTS: Resolved, N.C.D. 1. That they are entitled to life, liberty and property: and they have never ceded to any foreign power whatever, a right to dispose of either without their consent.}} and in Article 12 of the New Hampshire Constitution.{{cite web|url=http://www.nh.gov/constitution/billofrights.html |title=State Constitution, Bill of Rights|work=nh.gov|access-date=April 23, 2015}}

To become a participant of the Free State Project, a person is asked to agree to the Statement of Intent (SOI): {{Cquote|I hereby state my solemn intent to move to the State of New Hampshire within 5 years after 20,000 Participants have signed up. Once there, I will exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of civil government is the protection of individuals' life, liberty, and property.}}

The FSP is open to people with a minimum age of 18. United States citizenship is not required. People who promote violence, racial hatred, or bigotry are not welcome in the FSP.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fsp.org/disclaimer-policies/|title=Legal and Financial|access-date=June 7, 2018|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112220040/https://www.fsp.org/disclaimer-policies/|url-status=dead}}

The Free State Project was founded in 2001 by Jason Sorens, then a Ph.D. student at Yale University.{{cite web|last=Clow|first=Larry|url=http://www.wirenh.com/Features/Cover_Story/the_Free_State_turns_two_20051005785.html |title=The Free State turns two|publisher=The Wire |date=October 5, 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720163336/http://www.wirenh.com/Features/Cover_Story/the_Free_State_turns_two_20051005785.html |archive-date=July 20, 2008 }} Sorens published an article in The Libertarian Enterprise highlighting the failure of libertarians to elect any candidate to federal office and outlining his ideas for a secessionist movement, calling people to respond to him with interest.{{cite journal|last=Sorens|first=Jason|url=http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2001/libe131-20010723-03.html|title=Announcement: The Free State Project|journal=The Libertarian Enterprise|volume=131|date=July 23, 2001|access-date=March 1, 2009|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109025934/https://ncc-1776.org/tle2001/libe131-20010723-03.html|url-status=dead}} Sorens soon published a follow-up article{{cite journal|last=Sorens|first=Jason|url=http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2001/libe133-20010806-02.html|title=Update: Free State Project|journal=The Libertarian Enterprise|volume=132|date=August 6, 2001|access-date=January 1, 2013|archive-date=June 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621132321/https://ncc-1776.org/tle2001/libe133-20010806-02.html|url-status=dead}} backing away from secession, "and it never played a role in the FSP’s philosophy from then on."{{cite web|title=The Early Years of the Free State Project|url=https://www.fsp.org/history/|publisher=Free State Project|access-date=June 7, 2018|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112021120/https://www.fsp.org/history/|url-status=dead}} Sorens has stated that the movement continues an American tradition of political migration, which includes groups such as Mormon settlers in Utah, Amish religious communities,{{cite web |author=Walters |first=Joanna |date=October 1, 2003 |title=Free staters pick New Hampshire to liberate for sex, guns and drugs |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/oct/01/usa.joannawalters |work=The Guardian}} and the "Jamestown Seventy",{{cite journal|url=http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=yrlsa |first1=James F.|last1=Blumstein |first2=James|last2=Phelan|title=Jamestown Seventy|date=1971|journal=Yale Review of Law and Social Action|volume=1|issue=1}} an earlier effort to influence the politics of a particular state through deliberate migration.{{cite journal|journal=The Libertarian Enterprise|volume=132|date=August 6, 2001|title=Update: Free State Project|last=Sorens|first=Jason|url=http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2001/libe133-20010806-02.html|access-date=January 1, 2013|archive-date=June 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621132321/https://ncc-1776.org/tle2001/libe133-20010806-02.html|url-status=dead}}

The organization began without a specific state in mind. A systematic review started by narrowing potential states to those with a population of less than 1.5 million, and those where the combined spending in 2000 by the Democratic and Republican parties was less than the total national spending by the Libertarian Party in that year, $5.2 million. Hawaii and Rhode Island were eliminated from this list because of their propensity for centralized government.Joseph Spear, [http://www.libarts.ucok.edu/opsa/OPSR/Journal%20Vol5-Number1/4-Student%20Contri%20butions.pdf "An Experiment in Civic Engagement: The Free State Project"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325044314/http://www.libarts.ucok.edu/opsa/OPSR/Journal%20Vol5-Number1/4-Student%20Contri%20butions.pdf |date=March 25, 2009}}, Oklahoma Policy Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 1.

In September 2003, a vote was held, and participants voted using the minimax Condorcet method to choose the state that they were to move to.{{cite magazine |last=Camp |first=Pete |url=http://old.freestateproject.org/archives/state_vote/FSP-ECL-CertifyWhitePaper.htm |title=Free State Project Picks New Hampshire|date=October 8, 2003 |magazine=Up & Coming Magazine|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140423020956/http://old.freestateproject.org/archives/state_vote/FSP-ECL-CertifyWhitePaper.htm |archive-date=April 23, 2014 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_Europe/Condorcet_Method |title=OLPC Europe/Condorcet Method|website=wiki.laptop.org}} New Hampshire was the winner, with Wyoming coming in second by a 57% to 43% margin.{{cite AV media|people= |date=October 1, 2003|title=Free State Project Announcement|trans-title= |medium=Motion picture|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?178464-1/free-state-project-announcement |access-date=February 7, 2021|publisher=C-SPAN |id=178464-1 }} Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Vermont were also on the list. New Hampshire was chosen because the perceived individualist culture of the state was thought to resonate well with libertarian ideals.

In 2004, following the selection of New Hampshire, a splinter group{{Citation needed|reason=Statement disagrees with associated source|date=September 2021}} called the Free Town Project formed to move to the small town of Grafton and advocate for legal changes there.{{cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/21534416/free-state-project-new-hampshire-libertarians-matthew-hongoltz-hetling |title=How a New Hampshire libertarian utopia was foiled by bears|date=December 10, 2020|publisher=Vox|last=Illing|first=Sean}} Grafton's appeal as a favorable destination was due to its absence of zoning laws and a very low property tax rate.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhes.nh.gov/elmi/products/cp/profiles-htm/grafton.htm |title=Community Profiles: Grafton, NH|access-date=February 8, 2021}} Additionally, it was the home of John Babiarz, a prominent member of the Libertarian Party who had twice run for Governor.{{cite magazine|last1=Hongoltz-Hetling|first1=Matthew|author1-link=Matt Hongoltz-Hetling|title=Barbearians at the Gate: A journey through a quixotic New Hampshire town teeming with libertarians, fake news, guns, and—possibly—furry invaders|url=https://magazine.atavist.com/barbearians-at-the-gate-new-hampshire-libertarians-fake-news |magazine=Atavist|access-date=June 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616130203/https://magazine.atavist.com/barbearians-at-the-gate-new-hampshire-libertarians-fake-news/ |archive-date=June 16, 2018|date=May 2018|url-status=live|issue=79}} Though no records were kept of the number of Free Town Project participants who moved to Grafton, the town's population grew from 1,138 in 2000 to 1,340 in 2010. Nearly all of the newcomers were men. Project participants fashioned homes out of yurts, recreational vehicles, trailers, tents, and shipping containers. The changes they voted in included a 30% reduction in the town's already-small budget, denying funding to the county's senior-citizens council. The libertarian newcomers additionally increased the city's costs by filing lawsuits against it in an attempt to set legal precedents. The project has been associated with an increase in the number and aggressiveness of black bears in town, including entering homes, mauling people, and eating pets. A single, definitive cause for the abnormal behavior of the bears has not been proven, but it may be due to libertarian residents who refuse to buy and use bear-resistant containers, who do not dispose of waste materials (such as feces) safely, or who deliberately put out food to attract the bears to their own yards, but do not feel any responsibility for how their behavior affects their neighbors.

{{Main|Grafton, New Hampshire#Free Town Project}}

In 2005, members of the Free Town Project were also briefly involved with Mentone, Texas. Mentone is in Loving County, at the time the least populous county in the United States.{{cite news|last1=Blumenthal |first1=Ralph |title=1 Cafe, 1 Gas Station, 2 Roads: America's Emptiest County|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/25/us/1-cafe-1-gas-station-2-roads-americas-emptiest-county.html |access-date=June 16, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=February 25, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160904161123/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/25/us/1-cafe-1-gas-station-2-roads-americas-emptiest-county.html |archive-date=September 4, 2016 |url-status=live}} Three men, Lawrence Pendarvis, Bobby Emory, and Don Duncan, claimed to have bought 126 acres (51 ha) of land and registered to vote there,{{Cite web|url=http://freetownproject.com/ |title=FreeTownProject.com|access-date=February 9, 2021 |archive-date=August 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806025906/http://freetownproject.com/ |url-status=bot: unknown }} although the sheriff determined that the land was not sold to the group, as no deed had been filed at the county courthouse. He contacted the sellers, who said that the land had been sold to other buyers, after which the sheriff filed misdemeanor charges against the three men and threatened to arrest them if they returned.

On February 3, 2016, the Free State Project announced via social media that 20,000 people had signed the Statement of Intent.{{cite web|title=Free State Project|publisher=Twitter|date=February 2, 2016|url=https://twitter.com/FreeStateNH/status/694763068010713088 }} In a press conference later that day, then FSP president Carla Gericke officially announced that the move had been triggered and that signers were expected to follow up on their pledge.{{cite web|url=https://freestateproject.org/blogs/free-state-project-officially-announces-20000-signers-100-reached |website=Freestateproject.org|date=February 3, 2016|title=Official press conference announcing success in reaching 20,000 members|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161208051605/https://freestateproject.org/blogs/free-state-project-officially-announces-20000-signers-100-reached |archive-date=December 8, 2016}} This concluded the Free Town Project,{{cite book|last=Hongoltz-Hetling|first=Matthew|author-link=Matt Hongoltz-Hetling|date=September 15, 2020|title=A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (And Some Bears)|url=https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/matthew-hongoltz-hetling/a-libertarian-walks-into-a-bear/9781541788510/ |publisher=PublicAffairs|isbn=978-1541788510|chapter=Book 3, Chapter 9: An Experiment Ends|quote="The same Trigger that birthed the Free State was a death knell for the Free Town... After years in which Grafton was the most visible and important landing point in the world for those who wanted to create a libertarian utopia, in the post-Trigger era, it became just another town in a state with many options."}} and the Free State Project organization changed focus from recruiting signers to encouraging them to move to New Hampshire, stating "we want 20,000 movers".

The Free State Project is not aligned with any political party and has no official position for or against any issues or candidates.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fsp.org/mission/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601025020/http://freestateproject.org/intro |url-status=dead|title=Liberty in Your Lifetime - The Mission of the Free State Project|archive-date=June 1, 2013}} That said, however, the Free State Project is defined as a movement that seeks to relocate people of broadly libertarian ideals, specifically.{{Cite web|title=The Free State Project, New Hampshire, USA|url=https://innovationingovernance.com/free-state-project-libertarian-new-hampshire-usa/ |access-date=August 7, 2022 |website=Innovation In Governance |language=en-US}} It receives its funding from individual donors interested in moving as part of the FSP or in attending one of their annual events.{{Cite web|url=http://freestateproject.org/files/FSPFY2008Actuals.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816065430/http://freestateproject.org/files/FSPFY2008Actuals.pdf |url-status=dead|title=Total income donations|archive-date=August 16, 2012}}{{Cite web|url=http://freestateproject.org/files/FSPFY2009-090331.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816065452/http://freestateproject.org/files/FSPFY2009-090331.pdf |url-status=dead|title=Total income donations|archive-date=August 16, 2012}} The FSP is a tax-exempt nonprofit educational organization, falling under category 501(c)(3), so all donations since July 20, 2009, are tax-deductible.[https://madmimi.com/s/bc2215 FSP Newsletter], July 2014, From the President's Desk

Several early movers have been elected to the 400-member New Hampshire House of Representatives. In 2006, Joel Winters became the first known Free Stater to be elected, running as a Democrat.{{cite news|url-access=subscription |author=Sarah Schweitzer |title=Free State Project cheers on one of its own in Winters |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/26/free_state_project_cheers_one_of_its_own_in_winters/ |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=November 16, 2006}} He was re-elected in 2008 but defeated in 2010.{{Cite web|url=https://sos.nh.gov/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205082004/http://www.sos.nh.gov/electwinwin.html |url-status=dead|title=NH-SOS|archive-date=February 5, 2012|website=sos.nh.gov}} In 2010, 12 Free Staters were elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives, all of them as Republicans.{{cite web|url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/for-some-ron-paul-backers-a-new-motto-go-east-young-man-and-woman--20110510 |title=For Some Ron Paul Backers, a New Motto: Go East, Young Man (and Woman)|work=NationalJournal.com |date=May 10, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908162852/http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/for-some-ron-paul-backers-a-new-motto-go-east-young-man-and-woman--20110510 |archive-date=September 8, 2012 }} In 2012, 11 more were elected.{{cite news|url=http://www.unionleader.com/article/20121115/LOCALVOICES08/121119494 |date=November 14, 2012|title=Anarchy in Ward 5? Well, not exactly |first=Mark |last=Hayward |work=New Hampshire Union Leader |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315071532/https://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article/?AID=/20121115/LOCALVOICES08/121119494&template=printart |archive-date=March 15, 2016 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 14, 2021}}{{cite web|first=Jake|last=Berry|url=http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/994856-469/movement-starts-slowly-but-future-encouraging.html |title=Free State project says future is encouraging|work=Nashua Telegraph|date=February 24, 2013|access-date=February 24, 2013}} In 2012, elected participants wrote and passed House Bill 418 which would require state agencies to consider open source software and data formats when making acquisitions;{{cite web|url=http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2654797&cid=38931563 |title=New Hampshire Passes 'Open Source Bill'|work=slashdot.org|access-date=April 23, 2015}} However, the bill died in the State Senate.{{Cite web|url=https://legiscan.com/NH/bill/HB418/2011 |title=New Hampshire HB418 | 2011 | Regular Session|website=LegiScan}}

In 2014, 17 Free Staters were elected.{{Cite web|url=https://ballotpedia.org/New_Hampshire_House_of_Representatives_elections,_2014|title=New Hampshire House of Representatives elections, 2014|website=Ballotpedia}}{{Cite web|url=http://freestateprojectwatch.org/free-state-project-watch-candidate-list-2014/|title=Free State Project Watch: Candidate List 2014|access-date=November 20, 2014|archive-date=June 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630054649/https://freestateprojectwatch.org/free-state-project-watch-candidate-list-2014/|url-status=dead}} In 2016, 15 of 32 Free Stater candidates were elected.{{cite web|title=NH Libertarians Officially Recognized as Party For First time in 20 Years + "Free Staters" Win 15+ State Rep Races|url=http://freekeene.com/2016/11/09/nh-libertarians-officially-recognized-as-party-for-first-time-in-20-years-free-staters-win-15-state-rep-races/ |website=Free Keene|date=November 9, 2016 |access-date=March 7, 2017}}{{cite web|title=Free State Project Watch: Candidate List 2016|url=https://freestateprojectwatch.org/free-state-project-watch-candidate-list-2016/ |website=Free State Project Watch|date=November 2016 |access-date=March 7, 2017}} In 2017, there were 17 Free Staters in the New Hampshire House of Representatives,{{cite web|title=Media Memo: Free State Project Members Make Up Disproportionate Percentage of NH Freedom Caucus|url=https://granitestateprogress.org/2017/04/24/media-memo-free-state-project-members-make-up-disproportionate-percentage-of-nh-freedom-caucus/ |date=April 24, 2017}} and, in 2021, the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance, which ranks bills and elected representatives based on their adherence to what they see as libertarian principles, scored 150 representatives as "A−" or above rated representatives.{{cite web|title=New Hampshire 2021 Liberty Ranking|url=https://nhliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021_Liberty_Rating.pdf |access-date=February 2, 2022}} Participants of the FSP also engage with other like-minded activist groups such as Young Americans for Liberty{{cite press release|title=Young Americans for Liberty Celebrates Victory for Right to Work in New Hampshire!|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/young-americans-for-liberty-celebrates-victory-for-right-to-work-in-new-hampshire-301235070.html |date=February 24, 2021}} and Americans for Prosperity.{{cite web|title=NH Primary Source: Americans for Prosperity-NH endorses Sununu, Wheeler, 6 House candidates|url=https://www.wmur.com/article/nh-primary-source-americans-for-prosperity-endorses-sununu-wheeler-6-house-candidates/33470334# |date=July 30, 2020}}

In 2022, the Croydon school board president and her husband, members of the Free State Project, attempted to cut the school budget by half in a surprise but licit maneuver on the day of the vote, in a district with typically low attendance for votes. The plan that passed offered students online learning from a facilitator or $9,000 to go to an alternate public or private school. This plan was claimed to satisfy the requirement of New Hampshire's constitution to provide an adequate education. In response, local residents organized to overturn the budget. They needed more than half of the eligible voters to vote in a special town meeting, and a majority of those voters to vote for the fully-funded budget. The new school budget was overruled 377 to 2, with just under two-thirds of eligible voters voting, and the original budget was restored. (The lopsided vote was because the strategy of supporters of the change was to refrain from attending the meeting, to deny it a quorum.) {{Cite web|url=https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2022-05-06/croydon-school-budget-cuts-students-revote |title=Croydon cut its school budget in half. Inside the historic push to reverse that decision|date=May 6, 2022|website=New Hampshire Public Radio}}{{cite news|title=Croydon voters restore school budget in a landslide|url=https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2022-05-08/croydon-voters-overturn-school-budget-cut |access-date=July 19, 2022|work=NHPR|issue=May 8, 2022|publisher=New Hampshire Public Radio}}

The Free State Project organizes two annual events in New Hampshire:

• The New Hampshire Liberty Forum, a convention-style event with a wide variety of speakers, dinners and events.
• The Porcupine Freedom Festival, commonly abbreviated to just "PorcFest",{{cite web|url=http://porcfest.com|title=PorcFest|access-date=April 23, 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://www.fsp.org/tag/porcupine-freedom-festival/|title=Porcupine Freedom Festival Blog Entries|work=fsp.org|access-date=June 12, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612184705/https://www.fsp.org/tag/porcupine-freedom-festival/|url-status=dead}} a weeklong summer festival that takes place at a campground. It was described by Libertarian philosophy professor Roderick Long as "like Woodstock for rational people".{{cite web|url=http://aaeblog.com/2011/06/22/way-long-gone-part-2/ |title=Way Long Gone, Part 2|work=aaeblog.com|access-date=April 23, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://aaeblog.com/2011/07/09/way-long-gone-part-3/ |title=Way Long Gone, Part 3|work=aaeblog.com|access-date=April 23, 2015}}{{cite web|last1=Murphy|first1=Robert P.|title=PorcFest 2011|url=https://mises.org/daily/5430/PorcFest-2011 |publisher=Ludwig von Mises Institute|access-date=July 7, 2014}}

On February 17, 2006, economist Walter Block publicly expressed his support for the FSP and was quoted as saying:

{{blockquote|You people are doing the Lord's work. The FSP is one of the freshest practical ideas for promoting liberty that has come out of the libertarian movement in the past few decades. May you succeed beyond your wildest dreams, and thus demonstrate in yet another empirical way the benefits and blessings of liberty.{{cite web|title=Walter Block's endorsement of the Free State Project|url=http://freestateproject.org/about/endorsements/#block |website=Free State Project|access-date=2021-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060813130830/http://freestateproject.org/about/endorsements/#block |archive-date=2006-08-13 |url-status=unfit}}}}

Jeffrey Tucker reflected about his experiences at the New Hampshire Liberty Forum in Nashua, saying in part: "If you are willing to look past mainstream media coverage of American politics, you can actually find exciting and interesting activities taking place that rise above lobbying, voting, graft and corruption".{{cite web|title=Political Migration in Our Time|url=http://freestateproject.org/content/political-migration-our-time |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310194902/http://freestateproject.org/content/political-migration-our-time |archive-date=March 10, 2013}}

The project was endorsed by Ron Paul{{cite web|title=Ron Paul Supports the Free State Project|url=http://freestateproject.org/intro/ron_paul |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130519122424/http://freestateproject.org/intro/ron_paul |archive-date=May 19, 2013 }} and Gary Johnson.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzLw12pbIU4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/TzLw12pbIU4| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Gary Johnson Endorses the FSP|website=YouTube |date=June 28, 2011 }}{{cbignore}} In 2010, Lew Rockwell from the Mises Institute endorsed the project and referred to the city of Keene, New Hampshire as "the northern capital of libertarianism".{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md6zzipKNVE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/Md6zzipKNVE | archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Lew Rockwell Applauds the Free State Project|website=YouTube |date=August 22, 2010 }}{{cbignore}} In 2011, Peter Schiff said he had considered moving to NH at one point.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6BmdaZK3Zg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/v6BmdaZK3Zg| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Peter Schiff (Euro Pacific Capital Inc.)|website=YouTube |date=January 7, 2011 }}{{cbignore}}

Some Republicans have responded more favorably to the project.{{cite news|last=Goldstein|first=Meredith|date=October 9, 2003|title=Free State Project pushes limits of liberty in N.H.|work=Boston Globe|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2003/10/09/free_state_project_pushes_limits_of_liberty_in_nh/ }} In September 2014, Republican Party Senate nominee Scott Brown, a former United States Senator from Massachusetts, said his election campaign needed "Freestaters" to support him in his one-minute closing statement at the Granite State Debate.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMtg48fQocE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/YMtg48fQocE |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Granite State Debate, U.S. Senate: Candidates deliver closing statements|website=YouTube |date=September 4, 2014 |access-date=September 10, 2014}}{{cbignore}}

Maine state senator Eric Brakey partially attributed the Republican Party's 2020 election gains to the Free State Project.{{cite web|last1=Brakey|first1=Eric|date=July 24, 2021 |title=The rise of the 'Liberty Republican'|url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-rise-of-the-liberty-republican |access-date=April 30, 2022 |work=Washington Examiner}}

Critics argue that the Free State Project is "radical",{{cite web|date=April 13, 2011 |title=The Radical-Right Free State Project Has Chosen New Hampshire For A Revolution |url=http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/04/13/174973/new-hampshire-radical-right/?mobile=nc |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150604084251/http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/04/13/174973/new-hampshire-radical-right/?mobile=nc |archive-date=June 4, 2015 |access-date=September 14, 2012 |website=ThinkProgress}} a "fantasy",{{cite web|last1=Trinward |first1=Steve |title=The Free State Project: good idea or libertopian fantasy?|url=http://www.rationalreview.com/rationalreviewold/archive/stevetrinward/stevetrinward011203.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031009103310/https://rationalreview.com/rationalreviewold/archive/stevetrinward/stevetrinward011203.html |archive-date=October 9, 2003 |access-date=June 16, 2021 |website=Rational Review}} or that they "go too far" in seeking to restrict government.{{cite news|date=June 28, 2012|title=LTE: Free Staters go too far|newspaper=Concord Monitor|url=http://thecontributor.com/lte-free-staters-go-too-far|access-date=June 29, 2016|archive-date=March 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309211436/https://thecontributor.com/lte-free-staters-go-too-far|url-status=dead}} The project has drawn criticism from some New Hampshire residents concerned about population pressure and opposition to increased taxation. In December 2012, state representative {{interlanguage link|Cynthia Chase|de}} (D-Keene) said, "Free Staters are the single biggest threat the state is facing today. There is, legally, nothing we can do to prevent them from moving here to take over the state, which is their openly stated goal. In this country you can move anywhere you choose and they have that same right. What we can do is to make the environment here so unwelcoming that some will choose not to come, and some may actually leave. One way is to pass measures that will restrict the 'freedoms' that they think they will find here".{{cite web|title=New Hampshire Democrat: 'Free Staters are the single biggest threat the state is facing today'|url=http://reason.com/blog/2012/12/27/new-hampshire-democrat-free-staters-are |access-date=April 23, 2015 |work=Reason.com|date=December 27, 2012 }}

During and shortly after the Free Town Project was active in Grafton County, there were three bear attacks.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.nhmagazine.com/bear-out-of-control/ |title=Does New Hampshire Have a Bear Problem?|date=September 17, 2020 |access-date=February 8, 2021 |magazine=New Hampshire Magazine}}{{cite news|url=https://www.wmur.com/article/grafton-woman-attacked-by-bear-1/5174477 |title=Grafton woman attacked by bear|date=June 17, 2012 |access-date=February 8, 2021 |work=WMUR-TV}}{{cite news|url=https://www.wmur.com/article/woman-71-seriously-hurt-in-encounter-with-bear-in-groton-home/22214964 |title=Bear seriously hurts woman, 71, in her Groton home|date=July 17, 2018 |access-date=February 8, 2021 |work=WMUR-TV}}{{cite web|url=https://boston.cbslocal.com/2020/06/22/new-hampshire-man-escapes-serious-injury-after-unprovoked-bear-attack-near-home/ |title=New Hampshire Man Escapes Serious Injury After Unprovoked Bear Attack Near Home |work=WBZ-TV |date=June 22, 2020}} Several media outlets have said that there was a relationship between the Free Town Project and the bear attacks, and a book was written on the subject by local state reporter Matt Hongoltz-Hetling.{{cite magazine |last1=Blanchfield |first1=Patrick |date=October 13, 2020 |title=The Town That Went Feral: When a group of libertarians set about scrapping their local government, chaos descended. And then the bears moved in. |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/159662/libertarian-walks-into-bear-book-review-free-town-project |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201013115616/https://newrepublic.com/article/159662/libertarian-walks-into-bear-book-review-free-town-project |archive-date=October 13, 2020 |access-date=June 16, 2021 |magazine=The New Republic |issn=0028-6583}}

In 2012, the Concord Police Department applied for $258,000 in federal government funding to buy a Lenco BearCat armored vehicle for protection against terrorist attacks, riots, or shooting incidents. The application mentioned "Free Staters" alongside Sovereign Citizens and Occupy New Hampshire as groups that "are active and present daily challenges". The grant from the United States Department of Homeland Security was successful, but the Concord City Council revised the application to remove references to those political movements before unanimously approving of the grant.{{cite news|last=Wickham |first=Shawne K. |title=Civil Liberties Union questions increasing use of costly military-style equipment by NH law enforcement|url=http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130728/NEWS07/130729284 |work=New Hampshire Union Leader |date=July 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816045252/https://www.unionleader.com/article/20130728/news07/130729284/ |archive-date=August 16, 2013 |url-status=dead}}

A 2022 survey found relatively little awareness of the Free State Project in New Hampshire but generally negative opinions among those familiar: 49% of respondents had heard of the project, while 10% expressed a favorable view and 26% an unfavorable one.{{cite web|date=September 29, 2022 |title=Suffolk University/Boston Globe Poll|url=https://www.suffolk.edu/-/media/suffolk/documents/academics/research-at-suffolk/suprc/polls/new-hampshire/2022/9_29_2022_marginals.pdf#page3 |website=Suffolk University}}

The Free State Project was the centerpiece of the 2011 documentary film Libertopia{{cite web|title=Libertopia |url=http://www.filmbuff.com/movies/libertopia/ |website=FilmBuff |access-date=June 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130123145410/http://www.filmbuff.com/movies/libertopia/ |archive-date=January 23, 2013 |url-status=unfit}} as well as the 2014 crowdfunded documentary 101 Reasons: Liberty Lives in New Hampshire.{{cite web|title=New Documentary to Highlight 101 Reasons to Move to New Hampshire|url=http://www.shirelibertynews.com/new-documentary-to-highlight-101-reasons-to-move-to-new-hampshire/ |website=Shire Liberty News|access-date=June 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610030055/http://www.shirelibertynews.com/new-documentary-to-highlight-101-reasons-to-move-to-new-hampshire/ |archive-date=June 10, 2014 |date=2014 |url-status=unfit}}{{cite web|title=101 Reasons: Liberty Lives In New Hampshire |url=https://101reasonsfilm.com/ |website=101reasonsfilm.com|access-date=June 16, 2021}}

In 2023, NBC Boston produced and released a docu-series about the Free State Project titled Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of New Hampshire,{{cite web|title=Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of New Hampshire |website=NBC Boston |date=February 20, 2023 |url=https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/life-liberty-and-the-pursuit-of-new-hampshire-an-nbc10-boston-original/2920007/ |access-date=May 22, 2023}} which includes interviews from members, supporters, and critics of the Free State Project.

{{Portal|Libertarianism|Anarchism|New Hampshire}}

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

• Adelsverein
• American Redoubt
• Anarcho-capitalism
• Foot voting
• Free West Alliance
• Fusionism
• Jason Sorens
• Libertarian conservatism
• Libertarian Republican
• Libertarian Party of New Hampshire
• Libertarianism in the United States
• New Hampshire Liberty Alliance
• Night-watchman state
• Objectivism
• Paleolibertarianism
• Politics of New Hampshire
• Right-libertarianism
• Voluntaryism

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{{reflist}}

• {{Cite magazine |last=Blanchfield |first=Patrick |date=October 13, 2020 |title=The Town That Went Feral |magazine=The New Republic |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/159662/libertarian-walks-into-bear-book-review-free-town-project |access-date=September 3, 2021}}
• {{cite news |url=https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2022/08/10/gunstock-a-reopening-and-a-reckoning/ |title=Gunstock: A reopening and a reckoning |first=Amanda |last=Gokee |website=newhampshirebulletin.com |date=August 10, 2022 |accessdate=October 19, 2023}}
• {{Cite news |last=Illing |first=Sean |date=December 10, 2020 |title=How a New Hampshire libertarian utopia was foiled by bears |language=en |work=Vox |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/21534416/free-state-project-new-hampshire-libertarians-matthew-hongoltz-hetling |access-date=September 3, 2021}}
• {{cite news|last1=Peterson|first1=Kyle|title=The Great American Disconnect|work=The Wall Street Journal |url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-great-american-disconnect-1458340613 |date=March 18, 2016 |access-date=September 3, 2021}}

• [http://www.fsp.org/ Free State Project] official website
• {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806025906/http://freetownproject.com/ |title=Free Town Project official website |date=August 6, 2018}}
• [http://nccsweb.urban.org/communityplatform/nccs/organization/profile/id/364668773/popup/1 Organizational Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611083107/http://nccsweb.urban.org/communityplatform/nccs/organization/profile/id/364668773/popup/1 |date=June 11, 2017 }} – National Center for Charitable Statistics (Urban Institute)
• {{YouTube|u=FreeStateProjectNH|{{PAGENAMEBASE}}}}
• [https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2014/06/12/the-free-state-project-a-libertarian-testing-ground-for-bitcoin-3d-printers-and-drones/ Free State Project A Libertarian Testing Ground] magazine article

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Category:Politically motivated migrations

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