Ayotte asks X to remove the party's posts and suspend its account
Kelly AyotteGovernor of New Hampshire
Governor Kelly Ayotte said the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire's posts violate X's rules on violent content and asked X to remove them and suspend the account.
“Violent rhetoric is completely unacceptable and has no place in our civil discourse. These posts plainly violate X's own rules on violent content, and I'm calling on X to remove them and suspend the account immediately.”
Official statement
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Was the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire's 'assassination' post a threat of political violence?
On September 22, 2026, the official X account of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire posted that the party "openly support[s] the assassination of basically every elected Democrat in New Hampshire," adding that anyone unwilling to do so should vote Republican. InDepthNH.org attributed the post to party chair Jeremy Kauffman. The Boston Globe and Boston.com described it as deleted, while InDepthNH.org reported on September 23 that it remained live and that party chair Jeremy Kauffman said it had not been taken down. New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte, state Democratic Party chairman Raymond Buckley, House Democratic Leader Alexis Simpson, U.S. Representatives Chris Pappas and Maggie Goodlander, and Republican congressional candidate Lily Tang Williams condemned the post. The state Attorney General's office said it was aware of the post but would not comment further. The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire's account separately said its posts are "completely legal," and after X temporarily suspended the account, Kauffman wrote that "patriots" should be able to "advocate for self-defense." It was the third time since 2024 that the party's account had posted about killing elected officials; the national Libertarian Party disaffiliated the state party in May 2026.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
Press release from the New Hampshire governor's office announcing Governor Kelly Ayotte's letter to Michael O'Herlihy, X's head of safety, asking the company to remove the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire's violent posts and suspend its account. The release links to the letter.
Reporting
About this source
InDepthNH.org report on Governor Kelly Ayotte's letter asking X to suspend the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire's account. It quotes the letter at length and a statement from the Attorney General's spokesman on the posts.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The party's X account had posted on October 13 about plans to kill Democrats and on October 14 about the death of House Democratic Leader Alexis Simpson. Ayotte condemned the party's September 22 post the day after it appeared.
After the quotation
Her letter to X's head of safety, Michael O'Herlihy, said the account "has openly called for the assassination of elected officials from the New Hampshire Democratic Party" and "most recently threatened a member of House leadership".
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the party's September 22 post about assassinating elected Democrats. Ayotte's letter lists the account's call for the assassination of elected Democrats among the posts she calls violent rhetoric that X should remove, so she condemns it.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Libertarian Party of New Hampshire
More from this case
Read the full caseLPNH calls Ayotte's letter an effort to curtail legal political speech
Libertarian Party of New Hampshire
“curtail legal political speech”Read statement
Simpson calls on X to permanently ban the LPNH account
“Enough is enough. Week after week, the LPNH account posts rhetoric on X intended to encourage violence against Democrats. I have reported these posts to the appropriate law enforcement. X needs to enforce its rules and permanently ban the LPNH account.”Read statement
LPNH says the media misrepresented a get-out-the-vote campaign
Libertarian Party of New Hampshire
“You get a place where when the media misrepresents your get-out-the-vote campaign as a call to 'assassinate Democrats' it's not a big deal and some elected anarcho-capitalists call you and laugh about it.”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Ayotte asks X to remove the party's posts and suspend its account
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/6078-governor-kelly-ayotte-said-the-libertarian-party-of
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Ayotte asks X to remove the party's posts and suspend its account". First published: 2026-10-19. Last updated: 2026-10-19. https://disputeindex.com/events/6078-governor-kelly-ayotte-said-the-libertarian-party-of