LOL Or Not, New Hampshire Secession Is Back

By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepth NH

It’s not a radical idea for New Hampshire to declare independence and leave the United States, said NH Exit’s Carla Gericke.

“‘Live Free or Die’ was never meant to be merely a catchy slogan. The time for something new is coming. Whether Granite Staters lead with solutions or become part of the problem will be up to us. I’m early, but I am not wrong,” Gericke told InDepthNH.org.

The former Free State Project board chairwoman and longtime power player in the Free State movement, Gericke is now campaigning to push New Hampshire’s independence from the Union. Through NH Exit, Gericke is reaching out to legislative candidates and getting them to sign a pledge backing the independent agenda.

“I’m having productive conversations with a growing number of candidates who understand that putting New Hampshire first is not a radical idea—it’s the job description. Some have already signed the New Hampshire First Pledge; others are still studying it. The important thing is that the question is now on the table instead of being treated as unthinkable,” Gericke said.

Gericke and her anti-Union cadre will have a tough hill to climb. House Majority Leader and Jason Osborne (R-Auburn), the possible replacement for outgoing Speaker Sherman Packard (R-Londonderry), is not a fan of the secession movement. Asked by InDepthNH.org if he thinks secession is realistic and if he supports it, Osborne, who moved to the state with the Free State Movement was clear.

“LOL, no and no,” Osborne said.

But Gericke maintains New Hampshire leaving the United States is the only option given the federal government’s mismanagement.

“The national debt is barreling toward $40 trillion — it’s already past $39.8 trillion. Regulatory overreach continues. Cultural and fiscal mismatches with D.C. grow wider every year. Endless, undeclared wars grind on. Inflation from a debased dollar is making us all poorer. Pretending the status quo is sustainable is the unrealistic plan,” Gericke said.

The ideas behind New Hampshire’s recent secession efforts stem from a misunderstanding connected to the Free State Project. Jason Sorens, the man who founded the Free State movement, initially suggested the threat of secession could be used by New Hampshire to gain more freedom from the federal government. He quickly backed away from that idea when it was championed by white supremacists.

But secession has remained bubbling in the background of many Free State adjacent activists in the state. Current Free State leadership did not respond to a request for comment.

This isn’t Gericke’s first secession campaign. A 2024 effort would have added a secession clause to the state constitution, triggering independence based on the size of the federal deficit. A 2022 proposal for a more straightforward exit plan managed to get 13 votes out of the 400 plus member legislature. The spark for the earlier secession campaigns were election conspiracy theories. Many of the secession backers circulated a petition after the 2020 election calling the government illegitimate and claimed that Gov. Chris Sununu was a tyrant.

This story was originally published by InDepth NH.