State House candidate Jess Edwards moved to New Hampshire in 2013 or 2014 and is part of the Free State Project. Edwards has demonstrated considerable ties to the Free State Project, including:

Edwards is a member of several Free State Project groups or projects. According to his Facebook profile, some of these include: the Free State Project’s PORC (porcupine outdoor recreation club), Porcupine Yellow Pages, Merrimack Valley Porcupines, FSP Housing Search – described as “This group is run by Free Staters for Free Staters for the purpose of helping liberty oriented individuals find housing in New Hampshire” and Porcupine Activism – described as “For Porcupines (FSP participants) to post and discuss about political activism they are involved in or need help with.” (Jess Edwards Facebook – Groups, Likes, Accessed 11.1.16)

Edwards has a leadership role with the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance, a FSP-associated organization. Edwards recently stepped into the role of Volunteer Coordinator for the NHLA. (NHLA February 2015 Newsletter, New Volunteer Coordinators seeking Liberty Forum Volunteers, 2.28.15)

Edwards’s consulting business is promoted on the Free State Project Website. Edwards is listed as a “Liberty-Friendly Business” under the heading “Privacy Compliance Program Consulting .“ (Free State Project, Liberty Friendly Businesses, accessed 11.2.16)

Edwards defended the Free State Project in the comments section of the Union Leader in early October 2016. Edward’s comment appeared under a letter to the editor titled “About those Free Staters” that raised concern over Free State Project members trying to stop sobriety checkpoints by local law enforcement. Edwards posted a comment defending members of the Free State Project. (Union Leader, About those Free Staters, 10.1.16)

Edwards is the father of Elizabeth Edwards, a current serving State Representative and outspoken Free State Project member.  It is unclear whether Jess Edwards moved here because of the Free State Project as his daughter did, or if he followed her and then signed up.

Why is Jess Edwards’ FSP Affiliation Important?

The ultra-extreme Free State Project voted on a state to move 20,000 people to, with the stated purpose to take over state government and dismantle it. The Free State Project seeks to create a libertarian “utopia” void of public infrastructure and common laws, and to use the power of numbers to dramatically change New Hampshire – even threatening secession from the rest of the country.[1] Members like Jess Edwards are actively working to help the Free State Project fulfill those goals.

Download GSP Profile – Free State Project Member Jess Edwards

[1] “Once we’ve taken over the state government, we can slash state and local budgets, which make up a sizeable proportion of the tax and regulatory burden we face every day. Furthermore, we can eliminate substantial federal interference by refusing to take highway funds and the strings attached to them. Once we’ve accomplished these things, we can bargain with the national government over reducing the role of the national government in our state. We can use the threat of secession as leverage to do this.” [Announcement:
The Free State Project by Founder Jason Sorens]