The Libertarian Party of Tennessee released a statement Thursday, one week after former President Donald Trump was found guilty by a Manhattan jury on all 34 counts in the falsification of business records linked to the Stormy Daniels hush money scandal, condemning the “clearly politically motivated” conviction of the former president.
Last week’s conviction marked the first time in history that a U.S. president has been convicted of a felony.
Trump will be sentenced on July 11.
“Principle is something that we at the Libertarian Party of Tennessee hold closer to our hearts than our dislike of personalities; if it’s not upheld as the highest virtue then we are no different from any other political party or movement. This is why we oppose the witch hunt and clearly politically motivated trial and conviction of former President Donald J. Trump in New York last week,” Josiah Baker, the chairman of the Libertarian Party of Tennessee said in a statement.
🚨🚨The LPTN reacts to the Trump verdict🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/3EPQ34RlDu
— Libertarian Party of Tennessee (@LPTN1776) June 6, 2024
While Baker said the state’s Libertarian Party has “zero interest or appetite” to endorse Trump as a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, he noted how the extreme nature of the case should be acknowledged and condemned.
“We have zero interest or appetite to endorse [Trump] as a candidate, and we aren’t cloaking this statement in some false pretense, in an effort to drum up marginal support for us. We simply are stating the obvious fact that the justice system has, can and will be used to browbeat those who oppose the Establishment in the halls of power, whenever it is called upon. This is something to which we hope our liberty-leaning fellow Americans have now become awakened. We’ve been shouting it as long as we can remember, and we will continue to do so,” Baker said.
Baker went on to use Trump’s treatment as a “reflection” of the justice system in Tennessee and nationwide.
“We hope this is a teachable moment, promoting reflection on the greater “justice” system at large, for what it is: a weapon wielded by those in power It is the same here in our state, where there are countless instances of poor and middle class citizens left with no choice other than taking a plea deal, often admitting to crimes they never committed, in order to save their families from shame, audits, charges, etc. We need to do a wholesale shakedown of this shakedown system at all levels,” Baker said.
“We at LPT will continue to fight alongside anyone who will link arms with us in educating and implementing support for initiatives of reform and repeal, the mainstreaming of jury nullification, restoration of rights to non-violent “criminals”, and protecting and rebuilding families. The battle rages on, and we are better fighting together than apart. “The State” is a parasite that must be extracted from the citizenry at all costs and all chances. We are better off doing it together. Join the cause and get in the game, It is only the first quarter,” Baker added.
Baker’s statement on Trump comes at a time when the national Libertarian Party is at a crossroads among itself as its nominee, Chase Oliver, has divided the party in half, according to Michael Rectenwald, the runner-up Libertarian candidate who narrowly lost the party’s nomination last month.
Rectenwald, who confirmed he would not be endorsing Oliver – who describes himself as “armed and gay” – in the 2024 presidential race, said the nomination of Oliver not only has “divided the party in half” but also that Oliver’s nomination will help Trump win the general election on November 5, 2024.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
