FBI visits former NH Libertarian Senate nominee to talk about his 'post,' won't say more

Self-identified FBI agents visited a firebrand Libertarian Party activist in New Hampshire on Monday to talk about "a post that was made" and ask whether he made the post, according to an X video the activist recorded from his doorstep and posted late Monday afternoon.

The FBI has declines to comment to matter, but users on X speculated it was an assassination-related post by Jeremy Kauffman on his personal X account or on the New Hampshire Libertarian Party account, to which he has posting privileges.

The state party nominated Kauffman to take on incumbent Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan in 2022. He's a member of the party's Mises Caucus, which libertarian icon and former Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, has called "the libertarian wing of the Libertarian Party."

Kauffman repeatedly asked the two plainclothes agents, who came in an unmarked vehicle, to show their federal badges with their full names, but could only get one to identify himself, as "Agent O'Donnell." Both repeatedly asked him to stop recording, which Kauffman refused, citing his First Amendment rights.

He taunted the agents, asking how much the bureau was spending for them to "investigate something that you know is not against the law." 

Agent O'Donnell responded: "We wanted to make sure there weren't any threats." 

They thanked Kauffman for his time and left as the activist kept criticizing them for violating the Constitution.

"You can see the shame on their faces. This is the Democratic regime manifest," Kauffman wrote in a post accompanying the video.

Kauffman mused on his X account Monday morning, the day after a second assassination attempt on former President Trump, the GOP nominee for president: "It's weird that no one ever tries to assassinate the actual president. Isn't that the guy in charge of everything?"

The state party's X account, known for inflammatory posts often criticized by other libertarians including presidential nominee Chase Oliver, wrote Sunday morning in a post that X apparently took down as a violation of its terms: "Anyone who murders Kamala Harris would be an American hero."

The party followed up Monday morning with an open letter that didn't identify who wrote the Harris post. "We would never advocate for the assassination of a tyrannical President. That's illegal," it said. "We were merely acknowledging how some members would react to one," noting that some progressives cheered for attempts on Trump's life.

"If you celebrate the Pine Tree Riot, the War for American Independence, or the assassination of past tyrants like Abraham Lincoln, you believe that violence is sometimes necessary to advance or protect freedom," the party said.