A series of social media posts by the New Hampshire Libertarian Party endorsing the assassination of Vice President Kamala Harris and violence against politicians has gotten the attention of state and federal law enforcement, and is being condemned by politicians across the aisle.
One of the posts, posted on X just before 3 a.m. Sunday, read: “Anyone who murders Kamala Harris would be an American hero.” Other posts, sent later that morning, read: “The point of the second amendment is to shoot and kill tyrannous politicians,” and “Encouraging politicians to be shot is legal under the first amendment. It’s part of what makes this country great.”
At least some of the posts have since been deleted, but they have attracted the notice of law enforcement agencies at both the state and national level.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Secret Service said in an email that the agency “is aware of the social media post made by the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire.” The spokesperson declined to comment specifically on the party’s postings, but added: “We can say, however, that the Secret Service investigates all threats related to our protectees.”
The New Hampshire Department of Safety, which includes the state police, and the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office said their agencies were “in communication with our federal law enforcement partners” about the party’s posts.
The New Hampshire Libertarian Party did not respond to a request for comment.
The party deleted the initial post from its account later Sunday morning, saying it did not want to break the terms of use of X, formerly known as Twitter: “It’s a shame that even on a “free speech” website that libertarians cannot speak freely. Libertarians are truly the most oppressed minority.”
Leaders in the state Democratic and Republican parties criticized the Libertarians’ posts. State Republican Chairman Chris Ager said he condemned them “in the strongest possible terms. There is no room for this type of dialogue. PERIOD.” Raymond Buckley, chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party said the Libertarian’s endorsement of violence against Harris “was disgusting, dangerous and wrong.”
In the hours following the original post, the New Hampshire Libertarian Party’s X account lashed out at critics, including Chase Oliver, the Libertarian Party nominee for president, using a homophobic slur to insult him.
Monday morning, the state Libertarian Party issued what it called an “official statement on political assassinations.”
The statement read, in part, “We would never advocate for the assassination of a tyrannical President. That’s illegal. We were merely acknowledging how some members would react to one.”