Era-Defining Leader Carla Gericke Steps Down and Passes the FSP Baton

After Seventeen Years Building and Leading the Free State Project, Carla Gericke Announces Decision to Step Down from Board of Directors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, April 6, 2026

MANCHESTER, NH – An era-defining leader of the Free State Project (FSP), Carla Gericke, announced today that she is stepping down as Chairman of the organization’s Board of Directors — concluding seventeen years of leadership that helped shape the modern Free State movement.

In her decision letter, Carla Gericke reflected on her time of service, writing:

“I have had the honor of working with hundreds of Porcupine volunteers over the years. Thank you for standing by my side! The foundation we built together stands strong. The thousands who moved. The legislative footprint. The culture of liberty we strengthened in New Hampshire. The Free State thrives! The next chapter of the Free State Project belongs to the current paid leadership and board. Thank you for the opportunity to serve.”

Across twenty-one years of continuous involvement with the Free State Project — and seventeen years in leadership — Carla Gericke built a record of achievement that stands as a model for all Free Staters:

An early mover. Born in apartheid-era South Africa, Carla immigrated to the United States in the 1990s and built a successful legal career in Silicon Valley.

An early signer with the Free State Project, Carla visited the third official Porcupine Freedom Festival in 2005. Three years later, she arrived in New Hampshire as mover number 516, alongside her husband, Louis, during a February blizzard.

A legal trailblazer. In 2010, Carla Gericke was wrongfully arrested by the Weare Police Department for filming officers in the process of an interaction. They charged her with felony wiretapping, but she fought back and won a landmark First Circuit Court of Appeals case: “Gericke v. Begin.”

This case affirmed the right to film police in public and rejected qualified immunity — a significant victory for transparency and accountability.

A freedom activist. In 2013, Carla Gericke led activism against the militarization of local police, specifically opposing the Concord Police Department’s attempt to acquire a BEARCAT armored vehicle. In their grant application, they labeled Free Staters, Sovereign Citizens, and Occupy activists as “domestic terrorists.” Years later, BEARCATs were used by the FBI during the raid on the home of early Free State pioneer, Ian Freeman, in Keene. To this day, Carla remains committed to “Free Ian,” hosting a conversation at the recent 2026 NH Liberty Forum on these efforts. Carla has also been a tireless activist and public advocate for liberty in New Hampshire. She spearheaded the neighborhood response to the illegal 2016 West Manchester police shelter-in-place orders, ran for office as a persistent and increasingly competitive candidate in the heavily Democratic-leaning Manchester area from 2016 to 2024, and serves on the boards of the Foundation for New Hampshire Independence and Right-to-Know NH, where she helps advance legislation to expand transparency and individual liberties. She worked with the ACLU of New Hampshire to secure the release of the secret list of problematic officers and to challenge the City of Manchester’s illegal downtown surveillance cameras. She successfully stopped the City from bulldozing the West Side Community Garden — which had been approved through a backroom deal — and secured a front-page apology in the Union Leader. Throughout the years, Carla has organized and attended countless protests, rallies, and celebrations in defense of the First, Second, Fourth, and Tenth Amendments. She was a strong and outspoken advocate for health freedom during the Covid period. Despite death threats, vandalism, and other acts of intimidation, Carla has stood firmly for the cause of liberty throughout her twenty-one years of continuous involvement with the Free State Project. She has inspired countless activists and helped bring thousands more to New Hampshire. More recently, as a Realtor with Porcupine Real Estate, she has continued that mission by literally putting Free Staters in homes.

A threshold leader. From 2011 to 2016, Carla Gericke served as the President of the FSP. During those years, she professionalized the organization, built up social media channels, raised significant donations, and launched the “Mover Number Project” (personally assigning 2,000 mover numbers).

Her final year culminated in the success of her efforts to reach 20,000 signers for the libertarian mass migration movement and “trigger the move” to New Hampshire — three years ahead of schedule, on February 3, 2016.

In recognition of her achievements, upon retiring as President that year, Carla Gericke was granted the honorary title of “President Emeritus,” which she retains to this day.

An event pioneer. Carla Gericke played a defining role in shaping flagship events the Free State Project is known for across the libertarian world. A three-time producer for the Porcupine Freedom Festival, Carla oversaw a doubling in attendance in 2009 and 2010 — in which she also created Soapbox Idol (the most popular event at PorcFest for 15 years). In 2020, she produced a defiantly open freedom festival — the only major libertarian event in the world to take place as scheduled that year, drawing in more than 1,000 attendees.

During her tenure as a festival leader, she made the controversial decision in 2014 to give Lyn Ulbricht her first public platform to speak to the case of her son, Ross Ulbricht (who faced a double-lifetime sentence for building a website where people made transactions with Bitcoin). Over the next eleven years, Carla helped fan the flames of the Free Ross movement until he received a presidential pardon and attended the festival in person to thank attendees for their decade of support.

She also hosted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (PorcFest 2023), establishing the festival as a community that presidential contenders must visit and speak.

For the Free State Project’s other annual flagship event, Carla secured Edward Snowden as a keynote speaker for the 2016 New Hampshire Liberty Forum, which saw over 600 attendees — the highest attendance on record for this long-standing annual conference.

Additionally, over the last ten years, Carla Gericke produced the annual Porcupine Day celebration on the anniversary of triggering the move. Each year, this event has successfully generated funds to support the Free State Project and recognition for those building Free State communities.

An essential spokesperson. Over many years, Carla helped bring national and international visibility to the FSP through positive press coverage — with features from outlets including Reason, NHPR, C-SPAN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Economist.

Representing the Free State Project, she also appeared in the NBC Boston series “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of New Hampshire,” as well as a memorable episode of Dr. Phil.

Carla has also represented the FSP at major conferences around the world, including Freedom Fest, International Students for Liberty, Anarchapulco, and Hereticon.

A consistent hand at the helm. Over the decade since triggering the move, Carla Gericke has served on the FSP Board of Directors, including as its Chairman.

Since 2016, she oversaw multiple executive directors, managed a geographically dispersed team of over 20 volunteers, and steered board composition to build a robust and impactful organization.

With her departure as Chair, operational leadership now rests with Executive Director Eric Brakey and the remaining members of the Board of Directors.

Carla Gericke will also step back from producing this summer’s 23rd Porcupine Freedom Festival (currently scheduled for June 21-28). In the coming days, decisions regarding this upcoming event will be announced.

Reflecting on her mentorship, FSP Executive Director Eric Brakey said:

“Many times, I would have been lost without Carla Gericke. Two years ago, when I first arrived in New Hampshire, I told her I may need some training wheels as I learned about the Free State community and the mission we are all achieving together. Carla’s guidance during this time has been invaluable. I wish her well, and sincerely hope she remains generous with advice as we continue building liberty in our lifetime.”

Jason Sorens — FSP Founder and Board Member — remarked:

“Very simply, the FSP would not be what it is today without Carla. Her accomplishments speak for themselves; she will be missed.”

Mark Warden — early mover, five-term NH State Representative, and FSP Board Member — said of her departure:

“Carla’s contribution to the Free State Project movement in New Hampshire cannot be overstated. We owe a debt of gratitude for her tireless energy, leadership and advancement of FSP over the years.”

Carolann Fenton — FSP Board Member and producer of the annual Free State Bitcoin Digital Asset Conference — shared:

“It has been an honor working alongside Carla for the short time I have had the privilege.”

Seamus Casey — FSP Board Member and former NHGOP Executive Committee Member — shared:

“Since meeting her in 2012, Carla has been an inspiration: her energy, accomplishments, and ability to motivate others has been unmatched. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who has done more to ‘Keep New Hampshire Awesome!’  It has been an honor serving with Carla on the FSP Board over the past six years.”

With the baton of leadership passing to the next generation, the Free State Project continues to build liberty on foundations laid by Carla Gericke and other early Free State pioneers.

Our mission is to assemble the most effective liberty movement in the world and to restore liberty in our lifetimes. We pursue this mission each day by inviting liberty lovers to visit, move, and build — right here in New Hampshire. That mission continues.

The entire Free State Project offers its sincere thanks to Carla Gericke for her decades of dedication, vision, and tireless service. The foundation she helped lay will continue to carry the future of freedom in New Hampshire for generations to come.

The Free State Project looks forward to seeing what she does next!