Free State Project

The Free State Project (FSP) is an American political migration movement founded in 2001 by Jason Sorens, then a doctoral student at Yale University. Its central idea is that a sufficiently large concentration of people committed to libertarian principles could influence the political and social direction of a single state more effectively than dispersed activists could influence the country as a whole. Participants sign a Statement of Intent promising to move to New Hampshire within five years after 20,000 people have signed the statement and, after relocating, to make their fullest practical effort toward a society in which government primarily protects life, liberty, and property. The project initially considered several states rather than committing to New Hampshire. Organizers narrowed the field using population, political-spending, and perceived cultural and institutional criteria. In September 2003, participants selected New Hampshire through a ranked voting process, with Wyoming the principal alternative. New Hampshire was viewed as having a relatively favorable political climate, a small population, and cultural characteristics compatible with the movement’s objectives. The FSP is not a political party and does not require participants to support particular candidates, legislation, or tactics. It describes itself as a decentralized social movement. The organization does not provide a centralized political program for movers; instead, participants pursue a wide range of activities, including electoral campaigns, legislative advocacy, civil-liberties activism, entrepreneurship, community organizing, and attendance at movement events. Its stated goals include lower taxation and regulation, stronger individual rights, free-market reforms, and a more limited role for government. Participation is open to adults, and United States citizenship is not required. A related experiment, the Free Town Project, emerged after New Hampshire had been selected. Participants concentrated in Grafton, where they sought to test libertarian approaches to local governance. The project received attention for its use of unconventional housing, efforts to reduce local spending and public services, litigation against local authorities, and disputes involving land use, waste management, schools, and public safety. Journalistic accounts also linked the community’s practices to conflicts over black bears, although the precise causes of the animals’ behavior have not been definitively established. A short-lived effort involving land and voter registration in Mentone, Texas, also attracted legal and media scrutiny. On February 3, 2016, the organization announced that the 20,000-signatory threshold had been reached. This formally activated the relocation pledge and shifted the project’s emphasis from recruiting signers to encouraging them to move. The organization reported approximately 6,232 movers as of May 2022, although some early participants have subsequently left. Participants have had a visible presence in New Hampshire politics, particularly in the 400-member state House of Representatives. The first known Free Stater elected to the House was Joel Winters in 2006, who ran as a Democrat. Later waves of participants generally ran as Republicans, while the movement itself has maintained that it is independent of political parties. The FSP’s public profile is supported by annual events, notably the New Hampshire Liberty Forum and the Porcupine Freedom Festival, commonly called PorcFest. These gatherings combine speeches, educational sessions, networking, social activities, and discussion of libertarian philosophy and activism. The movement has received support from figures associated with libertarian and conservative politics, including Ron Paul, Gary Johnson, Walter Block, Lew Rockwell, and Peter Schiff. It has also faced criticism from residents, journalists, and political opponents who characterize its objectives as extreme, impractical, socially disruptive, or insufficiently attentive to shared public services. As of 2024, Eric Brakey was identified as the organization’s executive director.

The Free State Project began in 2001 when Jason Sorens proposed a deliberate migration of libertarians to one comparatively small American state. Sorens initially framed the idea partly in response to the difficulty libertarians had experienced in winning federal office. The early proposal included secessionist language, but Sorens later withdrew that element, and secession did not become part of the project’s continuing philosophy. Instead, the movement focused on using political migration, local participation, and civic organization to demonstrate the practical effects of limited government. The organizers did not initially choose a destination. They examined states with populations below approximately 1.5 million and considered political spending, institutional arrangements, and cultural compatibility. Hawaii and Rhode Island were excluded in part because organizers viewed their political systems as too centralized. In September 2003, participants used a ranked voting method to select New Hampshire over Wyoming and other candidates including Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont. New Hampshire’s political climate and perceived affinity with libertarian ideas made it the preferred destination. The movement’s principal mechanism was the Statement of Intent. A participant agrees to relocate to New Hampshire within five years after 20,000 people have signed. The promise was designed as an assurance contract: the threshold would give participants confidence that a substantial community would form, while the obligation would encourage coordinated migration once that threshold was achieved. The FSP’s mission statement, adopted in 2005, described the desired society as one in which government’s maximum practical role is protecting life, liberty, and property. The organization has emphasized that it does not dictate a single political platform or a central action plan. After New Hampshire’s selection, the Free Town Project developed as a related local experiment in Grafton. Its participants used unconventional housing, including yurts, recreational vehicles, trailers, tents, and shipping containers, and pursued reductions in local spending and public services. The experiment generated disputes over municipal budgets, police, roads, fire protection, schools, lawsuits, waste practices, and land use. It also became associated in media accounts with a series of black-bear incidents. While unsafe waste and food practices were proposed as possible contributing factors, no single definitive explanation was established. The Grafton experience became one of the most controversial and widely reported episodes connected with the broader movement. A separate 2005 effort in Mentone, Texas, involved three men who claimed to have acquired land and registered to vote there. The local sheriff said no deed had been filed for the claimed transaction, contacted the sellers, and filed misdemeanor charges. The episode was short-lived and did not replace New Hampshire as the project’s focus. The FSP announced on February 3, 2016, that 20,000 people had signed the Statement of Intent. Carla Gericke, then the organization’s president, stated that the relocation phase had been triggered. From that point, the organization concentrated more heavily on encouraging signers to move, assisting newcomers, and building a durable New Hampshire community. The organization reported approximately 6,232 movers by May 2022, though participation has not been static and some early movers have departed. Political participation has been decentralized and cross-party. Joel Winters became the first known Free Stater elected to the New Hampshire House in 2006 as a Democrat. Twelve participants were elected in 2010, followed by eleven more in 2012 and seventeen in 2014; in 2016, fifteen of thirty-two Free Stater candidates were reported elected. During the 2017–2018 legislative term, seventeen Free Staters held House seats. Participants have supported measures ranging from open-source government technology to changes in education funding, and they have worked alongside organizations such as Young Americans for Liberty and Americans for Prosperity. The movement has maintained that it does not officially endorse candidates or issues. The FSP also built an institutional and social infrastructure through the New Hampshire Liberty Forum and PorcFest. These events provide venues for speeches, training, debate, socializing, and recruitment. Supporters have included prominent libertarian commentators and politicians, while critics have argued that the movement is radical, unrealistic, overly antagonistic toward public institutions, or disruptive to local communities. In 2012, a federal security-grant application by Concord police referred to Free Staters alongside other activist groups; the references were removed from the revised application before city approval. In 2022, a Croydon school-budget confrontation showed how local organizing could produce significant controversy even when the underlying vote was lawful. More recently, criticism from former participants has challenged the movement’s internal culture and objectives. As of 2024, Eric Brakey was serving as executive director.

• 2022

  Reported mover count exceeds 6,000

  [1]Free State Projecten.wikipedia.org

  The organization reported approximately 6,232 participants had moved to New Hampshire by May.

• 2016

  20,000-signatory threshold reached

  [1]Free State Projecten.wikipedia.org

  The organization announced that 20,000 people had signed the Statement of Intent, activating the relocation phase.

• 2010

  Twelve participants elected

  [1]Free State Projecten.wikipedia.org

  Twelve Free State Project participants were elected to the New Hampshire House, all as Republicans.

• 2006

  First known Free Stater elected to the New Hampshire House

  [1]Free State Projecten.wikipedia.org

  Joel Winters became the first known participant elected to the state legislature, running as a Democrat.

• 2005

  Mission statement adopted

  [1]Free State Projecten.wikipedia.org

  The organization adopted a mission centered on protecting life, liberty, and property while reducing government’s role.

• 2004

  Free Town Project begins

  [1]Free State Projecten.wikipedia.org

  A related initiative began concentrating participants in Grafton to pursue local libertarian governance experiments.

• 2003

  New Hampshire chosen

  [1]Free State Projecten.wikipedia.org

  Participants selected New Hampshire as the destination after a comparative state-selection process and ranked vote.

• 2001

  Movement founded

  [1]Free State Projecten.wikipedia.org

  Jason Sorens founded the Free State Project as a proposal for coordinated libertarian migration to one American state.

A decentralized, liberty-oriented migration and civic-activism movement seeking to concentrate libertarian participants in New Hampshire rather than operate as a conventional political party.

• Participant commitment program · 2001

  Statement of Intent

  The Statement of Intent is the FSP’s core participation mechanism. Adults agree to move to New Hampshire within five years after 20,000 participants have signed and to make a practical effort toward a society focused on protecting life, liberty, and property. It functions as a coordination and assurance device rather than a conventional membership contract.

• Conference

  New Hampshire Liberty Forum

  The New Hampshire Liberty Forum is an annual convention-style gathering featuring speakers, dinners, educational sessions, and networking. It serves as a public-facing forum for libertarian ideas and as a meeting point for participants, prospective movers, and allied activists.

• Festival

  Porcupine Freedom Festival

  PorcFest is a weeklong summer event held at a campground in New Hampshire. It combines talks, informal discussion, community activities, and movement networking, and is one of the FSP’s most recognizable annual gatherings.

• 2025

  Former participant criticizes the movement

  Former New Hampshire representative Amanda Bouldin published an account describing why she left the movement and characterizing it in strongly negative terms.

  Source

• 2022

  Croydon school-budget controversy

  Free State Project members associated with the Croydon school board supported a plan that sharply reduced the local school budget. Residents subsequently voted overwhelmingly to restore full funding.

  Source

• 2012

  Concord police grant references Free Staters

  A Concord police application for federal funding for an armored vehicle listed Free Staters among groups described as presenting local challenges. City officials later removed those references from the revised application before approving it.

  Source

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• 2016New Hampshire relocation campaign

  New Hampshire · United States

  After reaching 20,000 signers, the FSP shifted its campaign toward helping participants fulfill their relocation commitments and encouraging additional movers.

  Outcome. Approximately 6,232 movers were reported by May 2022.

  Source
• 2001National recruitment drive

  United States

  The project began recruiting libertarians willing to sign a coordinated relocation commitment.

  Outcome. The recruitment campaign eventually reached the 20,000-person threshold in 2016.

  Source
• Annual liberty events

  New Hampshire

  The organization uses the New Hampshire Liberty Forum and PorcFest for education, recruitment, community formation, and activist networking.

  Outcome. Both events became recurring elements of the movement’s public and social infrastructure.

  Source

• 2016

  Shift from recruitment to relocationStrategy

  Background

  The organization reached its target of 20,000 Statement of Intent signers.

  Action taken

  The FSP declared the relocation pledge activated and focused organizational effort on encouraging signers to move to New Hampshire.

  Aftermath

  The movement reported thousands of movers and increased visibility in New Hampshire civic and electoral affairs.

  Source

• 2012

  Open-source government technology proposalProduct launch

  Background

  Free Stater legislators sought to apply libertarian and technology-oriented principles to state procurement.

  Action taken

  House Bill 418 proposed that state agencies consider open-source software and open data formats when making acquisitions.

  Aftermath

  The bill passed the House but died in the State Senate.

  Source

• 2003

  Select New Hampshire as the destination stateStrategy

  Background

  The project needed a common destination after evaluating multiple low-population states.

  Action taken

  Participants used a ranked voting process and selected New Hampshire over Wyoming and other candidates.

  Aftermath

  New Hampshire became the center of recruitment, migration, political activity, and annual events.

  Source

1. 1Free State Projecten.wikipedia.org
2. 2Free State Project official websitefreestateproject.org