The First Welcome (That Changed Everything)
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the Free State.
Here are a few things we are reporting on in this week’s Porcupine Post newsletter:
- The First Welcome – Every story has a beginning. Ours can be traced back to the first welcome from NH Governor Craig Benson.
- Snow Arrives Throughout NH – Free Staters are sending in awesome pictures of our winter wonderland.
- Build Freedom at the 2026 NH Liberty Forum — This week, we are excited to announce that Christina Mojica, Senior Policy Analyst at the Reason Foundation, will join us for main stage and dialogue conversations on housing policy.
- A Porcupine Patron Update, as we are 95% of the way to our end-of-year goal of 270 patrons. Can I count you in?
These weekly FSP newsletters are always jam-packed with a lot of content, so please feel free to skip ahead to whatever interests you.
The First Welcome
Everything has a beginning.
In 2003, Keith Murphy, one of our early Free State pioneers (and current NH State Senator), asked Governor Craig Benson:
Governor, how would you feel about 20,000 libertarian activists moving to New Hampshire?
Reports say that Governor Benson, with a smile, replied:
Come on up. We’d love to have you!
From the Free State Project archives, then-FSP President Amanda Phillips wrote about the significance of the event in June 2003.
In a few generations, I imagine Craig Benson will be remembered as one of the most consequential Governors of this era in New Hampshire history (though his one term in office is often forgotten by many today).
During the state selection process for the Free State Project in the early 2000s, Benson was the only Governor to offer a hand of welcome — and that made all the difference. In the 22 years since, Free State movers have reinforced the libertarian spirit of New Hampshire in politics and culture — establishing a “Granite Fortress of Freedom.”
Meanwhile, the condition of liberty has worsened across every other New England state. Vermont grows more socialist. Massachusetts grows more imperialist. Now, even Maine — once a 2nd Amendment leader — has passed a “Red Flag” gun confiscation law through referendum.
Only New Hampshire has charted a different course. Today, NH is the top mover destination for the productive people from every surrounding state. New Englanders seeking to preserve their economic and personal freedoms choose the Free State.
The promise of the Free State Project is “Liberty in our Lifetime.”
After one generation, our movement has demonstrated more results than any libertarian strategy previously attempted. Our mission is to build the world’s most effective movement for liberty by concentrating liberty-minded people in New Hampshire who will exert the fullest practical efforts to expand personal and economic freedom through activism, entrepreneurship, and mutual support.
Over 20,000 liberty lovers made the pledge to move to New Hampshire.
The thousands who followed through have bent the trajectory of the Granite State towards freedom over one generation.
Today, statists complain that Free Staters and their allies control the legislature and New Hampshire was just ranked (again) as the #1 state in economic freedom in all of North America.
Liberty is winning in New Hampshire, but we cannot rest on our laurels.
The gains made in a generation can be undone in an instant. I saw what one bad year did to Maine and the unstoppable trajectory down Hayek’s “Road to Serfdom” that created. For liberty to remain resilient and growing in the Granite State, we must continue welcoming new movers and developing our Free State community.
That’s why, since I joined the project, we have been reorienting our operations around a five-phase pipeline to meet liberty lovers wherever they are.
- Promote → Learn — We promote to external liberty-loving communities, utilizing new and traditional media, so they can learn about the Free State Project and what we are building in New Hampshire;
- Outreach → Connect — We outreach to liberty-aligned people and communities to connect and establish direct communication with potential future Free Staters through our newsletter and digital groups;
- Invite → Visit — We host events throughout the year and invite prospective movers to visit and experience Free State communities;
- Welcome → Move — We welcome and assist any liberty-lover who is planning, preparing, or executing a move to New Hampshire; and
- Engage → Build — We engage with active participants in the Free State Project, facilitating development of community by helping participants find their tribe and build liberty projects.
Our most recent big step in this direction was the launch of a brand-new FSP.org — a home for liberty lovers at every stage of their journey.
To keep up the momentum, we need your support.
Despite what our opponents say, we don’t have tons of “billionaire backers” funding the operations of the Free State Project. We have 256 Porcupine Patrons — many giving just $100 per year — helping to fund the year-round mission of our bootstrap operation (and I would like to reach 270 patrons by year’s end).
As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, your donation to the FSP is 100% tax-deductible — and we also accept Bitcoin and crypto.
“Live Free or Die — Start your Journey with the Free State Project.”
Thank you to FSP Video Strategist Reinita Susman.
Snow Arrives Throughout NH
This first week of December, the snow finally came even to southern New Hampshire.
- Snow shovels came out.
- Neighbors gave helping hands.
- Children (and young at heart) went sledding.
For all of us, the snow eventually wears out its welcome. In these first moments each season, however, there is something beautiful about its arrival.
It reminds us of the turning of the year. We are coming to the end of this one, and approaching the beginning of something new. Time marches on.
It brings community together. The arrival of winter is a shared experience in the Free State, so we gather together for the holidays and to help neighbors who need a hand clearing their driveways.
It is a time of wonder. Especially for the upcoming generation with few winters behind them, the season of lights, snowmen, and Christmas is a time for building lifelong memories.
Capturing moments of that winter beauty, we’ve received a lot of photos from Free Staters this week. Here are a few.
Build Freedom at the 2026 NH Liberty Forum
I hope you are making your plans to join us in March for the 2026 New Hampshire Liberty Forum.
We are returning to the Grappone Conference Center in Concord, March 5-8, 2026 with the theme “Build Freedom.”
This is a conference for those actively building solutions for a future grounded in individual human liberty. Of course, that’s the whole purpose of the Free State Project — to build a homeland for freedom builders.
Like last year, we will be running two tracks of content at the 2026 NH Liberty Forum:
- “Build Freedom” Main Stage Series – short-form talks and panels for a large audience;
- “Liberty In Practice” Dialogue Series – eight small group deep-dives (limited to 25 participants each), led by respected freedom builders with topics ranging from raising the next generation to the practical steps necessary for interstate secession.
In addition to speakers already announced, we’re excited to welcome Christina Mojica, Senior Policy Analyst at the Reason Foundation, to the 2026 NH Liberty Forum.
Christina will (1) lead a “Liberty In Practice” small-group dialogue on practical solutions to New Hampshire’s housing shortage and also (2) join a main stage panel tackling the regulatory barriers that drive up costs and keep people from building the homes and communities they want.
With her deep expertise in free-market housing policy, Christina’s sessions will give attendees actionable ideas they can take back to their own towns and districts.
There will be plenty more announcements ahead on the 2026 NH Liberty Forum, so keep reading this weekly newsletter.
Remember to use discount code “PorcPost” to save 5% on your tickets for the 2026 NH Liberty Forum.
PorcFest 2026 Update: Still Searching for a Home
In PorcFest news, I am disappointed to report that there is very little news to report.
After a very successful 22nd year of the Porcupine Freedom Festival — in which we welcomed a free Ross Ulbricht to the gathering that championed his release for a decade — we were informed by the ownership of Roger’s Campground that the festival would not be allowed to return for the following year.
After months of back-and-forth negotiations with the owner, no resolution was reached. During that same time period, as we’ve searched for a new venue, we have yet to find one in New Hampshire of adequate size that would also allow attendees to exercise the liberties that have long defined our freedom festival.
We are exploring many different possibilities, including those that would require reimagining the festival in a variety of ways.
That could mean a smaller festival than usual, a festival that requires us to bring all facilities with us to an open field (similar to “Burning Man”), and/or a festival that ventures outside the current borders of New Hampshire to lands less free.
The search for a venue continues. If you have any leads or input we should consider, please email our 2026 PorcFest producer, Jaime Hussey, at jaime@fsp.org.
The Free State Project Needs You
— Lend a Helping Hand
At the FSP, our job is fishing for people — those who share liberty values and want to live free. Here is exactly how we do it:
- The more people learn, the more they connect.
- The more people connect, the more they visit.
- The more people visit, the more they move.
- The more people move, the more they build.
- The more people build, the faster liberty wins.
As a small non-profit, our efforts at every stage are powered by volunteers — and we need more of them.
You can volunteer from here in the Free State of New Hampshire or anywhere in the country.
Click here to sign-up as an FSP volunteer.
We even need FSP ambassadors in the other 49 states to help us plan outreach opportunities to connect with liberty lovers near you.
(For more information on opportunities for non-NH residents to assist with outreach, please contact our Outreach Director, Pedro Serra, at the email address shown below.)
14 More Patrons Needed by New Year’s
— Will You Be One of Them?
If you believe in our mission for a liberty homeland in New Hampshire, I’d like to ask you to become a Porcupine Patron for the Free State Project.
For just $10/month, you can support our year-round efforts to build “Liberty in Our Lifetime” — outreaching and inviting new movers to join us in the Free State.
Additionally, you will receive exclusive patron benefits, including our quarterly print newsletter, access to our private Signal group, and perks at all FSP events.
We currently have 256 active patrons — only 14 away from our year-end goal of 270. If you’ve ever thought about becoming a $10/month Porcupine Patron (or at a higher tier), this is the week I’d be especially grateful if you did.
As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, all donations to the Free State Project are 100% tax-deductible. We welcome donations in dollars and many forms of cryptocurrency.
Can I count you in as a Porcupine Patron?
It is my honor to serve as Executive Director of the FSP.
Please read on for more of our weekly newsletter from the Free State, prepared with assistance from our Communications Director, Mahgdalen Rose.
For Liberty!
Hon. Eric Brakey
Executive Director
Free State Project
Free State Voices
News from the Free State
- JBartlett: New Hampshire ranked freest state in North America for 24th time
- Boston Herald: New Hampshire welcomes manufacturer fleeing Massachusetts: ‘Predictable result’
- NHPR: Concord author works with Bruce Springsteen on new film
- NH Bulletin: NH Republicans seek to implement Medicaid changes as Democrats work to reverse them
- Rock929rocks: New Hampshire Seeks Volunteer Ice Fishing Instructors for Statewide Program
- WMUR9: Manchester students design ornaments for New Hampshire State Tree in Washington, D.C.
- WMUR9: Enjoying the supermoon streak in New Hampshire
- WMUR9: New Hampshire teens celebrating seven years of holiday giving
- NH Bulletin: Marc Tremblay sworn in as Berlin state rep after special election victory
As Seen in the Free State
