Here was my letter to the FSP Board:
Board,
After deep reflection, I have decided to step down as Chair and board member of the Free State Project effective immediately. It has been a pleasure to serve with you.
I will be releasing all operational and volunteer responsibilities. I will retain the title of President Emeritus as an honorary role only. I will make a statement on Monday that the organization can share if desired.
The statewide PorcFest pivot is now fully in the hands of the paid Executive Director and the board.
For the official record, here are my key accomplishments with the Free State Project:
I am mover number 516, arriving during a blizzard in February 2008.
I first attended PorcFest in 2005 at Roger’s Campground and remained continuously involved for twenty-one years. I officially organized PorcFest in 2009 and 2010 (and the legendary 2020 one), growing attendance by more than 100% over two years.
I brought Edward Snowden as keynote speaker to Liberty Forum 2016, creating one of the largest and most impactful events in our history (600+ attendees).
Despite backlash, I hosted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at PorcFest in 2023.
I was the first to platform Lyn Ulbricht despite significant criticism, and kept Ross Ulbricht’s story alive in New Hampshire; this effort culminated in Ross’s appearance and speech at PorcFest 2025 — one of my proudest moments and a tangible victory for human freedom.
In 2014, after being arrested in 2010 and charged with felony wiretapping, I won the landmark First Circuit Court of Appeals case, Gericke v. Begin, affirming the right to film police in public and rejecting qualified immunity — a significant victory for transparency and accountability, and a source of long-term positive press for the FSP.
During the 2020 lockdowns, despite the Governor’s orders, I organized the only major libertarian event in the world to take place as scheduled — PorcFest 2020 — drawing more than 1,000 attendees.
I triggered the move on February 3, 2016, at the historic press conference in Manchester that announced the 20,000-signer milestone and shifted the Free State Project from pledge to action — achieving our recruitment goal almost three years ahead of schedule.
I served as President from 2011 to 2016. During those years I professionalized the organization, with the help of my husband Louis Calitz, using open-source tools, launched the Mover Number Project — personally assigning 2,000 mover numbers — drafted a strategic plan with measurable outcomes, started and edited The Free Stater, built out our social media channels, secured the largest single donation in FSP history ($250,000) at the critical moment to position the incoming leadership for success, and helped secure some of the most positive press the FSP has ever received, including Drew Cline’s 2015 op-ed in the Union Leader (“If Free Staters can help it, everything in NH will be awesome”).
As a highly effective spokesperson and public face for the movement, I successfully represented the FSP and manned booths at major conferences including Freedom Fest, International Students for Liberty, Anarchapulco, and Hereticon. The FSP has been featured by many national and international outlets, including Reason, NHPR, C-SPAN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Economist, and I appeared in the NBC Boston series Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of New Hampshire.
I created Soapbox Idol in 2010, which became the most popular event at PorcFest for 15+ years.
I produced the annual February 3rd Porcupine Day event celebrating triggering the move, which has served as a fundraiser bringing in thousands of dollars.
I hired and fired executive directors, managed a geographically dispersed team of 20+ volunteers, and steered board composition.
I attended and helped at every single PorcFest and every Liberty Forum since moving to New Hampshire, missing only one PorcFest truck load-in/out at the storage unit.
I proposed the statewide “Passport to the Free State” decentralized evolution for PorcFest 2026 to keep our growing community connected and attract new movers after the changes at Roger’s Campground.
I served on the Board for a decade, steering the organization with pride. You might say: “This bitch built.”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.
Live free and thrive,
Carla Gericke
I’d love to see other leaders of the Free State movement start stacking theirs up too.
This is the start of something fabulous and new and aligned for me. Stay tuned! 🙂