A polarizing political activist took to social media to reveal how the FBI visited him at his New Hampshire home after a social media account he helps run declared: “Anyone who assassinates Kamala Harris would be an American hero.”
Jeremy Kauffman, 40, is a contributor to the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire (LPNH) account X, which posted the now-deleted post on Sunday at 3 a.m.
Added follow-up posts: “The point of the 2nd Amendment is to shoot and kill tyrant politicians” and “Encouraging politicians to shoot themselves is legal under the 1st Amendment. It’s part of what makes this country great.”
All posts have since been deleted.
Kauffman then posted a video on his personal X account showing FBI agents visiting his home.
Scroll down to watch the video:
A political activist took to social media to reveal how the FBI visited him at his New Hampshire home
Jeremy Kauffman, 40, posted the post on the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire’s (LPNH) Page X
“I’m Agent O’Donnell with the FBI,” one of the plainclothes agents is heard saying after being asked to identify himself.
“Is that enough identification? Is there only one Agent O’Donnell in the FBI?” Kauffman replies.
“In New Hampshire, yes,” the agent replies.
“Your full name, sir?” Kauffman asks again.
“Can you stop recording, please?” the officer asks.
“No,” Kauffman replies, before reminding the men of their “First Amendment right.”
“What is your name, sir?” he continues asking the other agent.
“Can you stop recording?” the second officer asks, ignoring Kauffman’s request.
“No way,” the activist replies. “I’m going back into my house.”
At one point, Kauffman asks the agents about their salaries and accuses them of “burning a couple hundred dollars an hour just to be here.”
At one point, the agent who identified himself as O’Donnell tells Kauffman: “All I want to do is talk to you about a post that was made, and if it turns out that it was you who made it.”
Kauffman responds by asking them more about the reason for their visit and their salaries, accusing them of “burning a couple hundred dollars an hour just to be here.”
In the end the agents leave.
Kauffman, known for his libertarian views and outspoken criticism of the US government, captioned the clip: ‘The FBI visited my house today for acts of free speech they knew were not crimes.
‘You can see the shame on their faces.
‘This is the manifesto of the democratic regime.’
Kauffman, known for his libertarian views and outspoken criticism of the US government, has taken responsibility for the post, which was later deleted.
She posted the video on Monday and it has since received more than 18 million views.
The “American hero’s” post was met with outrage just hours before the meeting, with politicians from both parties and observers condemning it.
A Secret Service spokesperson said in an email that the agency “is aware of the social media post made by the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire” and 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 also said their respective agencies were working with federal officials to investigate the New Hampshire Libertarian Party’s posts.
The party moved to remove the initial post from its account on Sunday morning, though it issued a statement saying it was doing so reluctantly.
“It’s a shame that even on a ‘free speech’ website libertarians can’t speak freely,” one message on the account read, referencing X’s terms of service.
‘Libertarians are truly the most oppressed minority.’
Leaders like state Republican Chairman Chris Ager also criticized the post, with the New Hampshire politician writing: “There is no place for this type of dialogue. Period.”
Raymond Buckley, chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, called the post “disgusting, dangerous and wrong.”
The party removed the initial post from its account on Sunday morning and issued a statement saying it was doing so reluctantly.
Kauffman is the co-founder and CEO of LBRY, a blockchain-based file-sharing system, and has also championed the Free State Project, a nonprofit focused on the idea of bringing libertarians to New Hampshire to make the state a national stronghold.
He had an unsuccessful bid for the New Hampshire Senate in 2022 as a Libertarian, and in an interview that year with New Hampshire Public Radio, he detailed how he wants a government with “less democracy.”
“I don’t want the people of California and New York to vote on my life in New Hampshire. And I’m an avowed supporter of the Free States,” he told the interviewer.
“I think (New Hampshire is) the most libertarian place in the country,” he added.
“And I want to be able to live with people who share my values. And it’s okay if we disagree, but people should be able to live.”
In 2018, he joined the nonprofit’s board of directors. In September last year, he was expelled for racially insensitive online posts.
The since-deleted tweet came after a second botched assassination of Donald Trump at his Florida golf course, where a suspect, identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, was arrested.
In 2021, he took over the LPNH X account, adding in his Monday statement: “We would never advocate for the assassination of a tyrannical president. That is illegal.”
“We were just recognizing how some members would react to one.”
The incident came after a second failed attempt to rally Donald Trump at his Palm Springs golf course, where a suspect, identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, was arrested.
