For Immediate Release
November 2, 2004

SUBJECT: Free State Project Recruits Displaced New London Residents

Contact: Amanda Phillips, President
Email: aphillips@freestateproject.org
Phone: 617-763-1996
Website: www.freestateproject.org

Recently, the city government of New London, Conn. condemned most of its Fort Trumbull neighborhood in order to give the property to a private developer. The case has generated a lawsuit and national media coverage.

The Free State Project (FSP), which is recruiting advocates of property rights, free markets, and civil liberties to move to New Hampshire, saw an opportunity.

"New London residents displaced by this abuse of eminent domain power likely appreciate the value of private property rights more than most Americans. They're also now looking for a place to live," explained FSP founder Jason Sorens, who lives in New Haven, Conn. "We'd like to let them know that this event could never happen in New Hampshire; the state supreme court has ruled that private property may never be taken for mere 'economic development' reasons."

Pat McCotter, another Connecticut Free Stater, took a fact-finding tour of the Fort Trumbull neighborhood. "More people than you might realize have been affected by the city government's action," he noted. "Not only were property owners dispossessed, but people who'd leased property and run businesses on that property for many years have also been kicked out."

The FSP is running a month-long ad on the New London Day's website in order to increase the visibility of the Project among local residents. This ad follows other successful "shadow ads" that the group has run in South Carolina and Vermont, generating significant national attention for the Project.

The Free State Project, founded in September 2001, chose New Hampshire as its destination in October 2003 through a vote of signed-up participants. Currently, over 6,100 people have committed to move to New Hampshire within the next several years, and over 50 people have already moved.

FSP Mentioned on Hannity & Colmes

Logan Darrow Clements was on Fox TV's "Hannity & Colmes" on 7/22/05 discussing the Lost Liberty Hotel, and gave a nice mention of the FSP. Also appearing was a Weare resident who supported Clements.

Here are video clips:

	Windows Media (wmv)	QuickTime (mov)
FSP mention	2.8 mb	3.4 mb
Full segment	8.3 mb	10.1 mb

Background:

In the wake of Kelo v. City of New London, private developer, Logan Darrow Clements, has applied

to take possession of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Souter's New Hampshire residence for the purpose of building "The Lost Liberty Hotel," featuring the "Just Desserts Cafe," and a museum dedicated to the loss of American freedom. He hopes that Free Staters will be regular customers.

Protesters Decry Eminent Domain Ruling: Hundreds demonstrate

by Stephen Chupaska • 07/15/05

New London -

Just two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of the city in Kelo v. New London, the protest against the taking of homes in Fort Trumbull came full circle.

Chanting "Let Them Stay" and flying the Revolutionary War era "Don't Tread on Me" flag, close to 500 protesters rallied at New London' s municipal building on July 5, where five years ago, the City Council voted to authorize the use of eminent domain to seize the homes of Susette Kelo and the six other property owners.

Some demonstrators who could not find room to stand on the sidewalk in front of city hall watched from outside the Crocker House – which is partly owned by New London Development Corporation President Michael Joplin.

The rally took place before a scheduled City Council meeting, which did not have anything related to the decision or future development on its agenda.

Organized by the Washington, D.C., libertarian lobby group, Institute for Justice, it drew supporters from all over the Northeast and as far away as Kentucky and Texas.

"There has not been a Supreme Court case that has had such universal condemnation," said Scott Bullock, the attorney who argued the case before the high court. "There has been outrage at a time America is so divided."

Jim Perry, of Peterborough, N.H, and member of the libertarian Free State Project, said he drove down for the rally because "private property means private property."

Some took exception to the court's interpretation of the Fifth Amendment, which sanctions the takings clause.

Nine-year city resident Allan Nicklaus said the court went above the "original intent of eminent domain."

Fort Trumbull resident Nield Oldham, who called the rally "very encouraging," reiterated that the property owners were never against the NLDC's plans for the peninsula.

"It could have been an attractive neighborhood," he said. "They got it so wrong; now it's time to do it right."

Also present was state House Minority Leader Bob Ward (R-Wallingford), who said he would work on laws designed to curb the use of eminent domain.

Scott Sawyer, the property owners' local counsel, said he would like to find a way to keep the property owners' homes in Fort Trumbull.

"The city of New London," he said, "can become the city of solutions."

Bullock addressed the City Council at its meeting, but the council did not respond to any of the public comment about the Fort Trumbull development.

"It wasn't on the agenda," Councilor Beth Sabilia said.

Proposal Made to Seize Souter's Property

by AP • 06/29/05

Proposal Is Made to Seize Supreme Court Justice Souter's Property and Turn It Into a Hotel

WEARE, N.H. Jun 29, 2005 — Following a Supreme Court ruling last week that gave local governments power to seize private property, someone has suggested taking over Justice David Souter's New Hampshire farmhouse and turning it into a hotel.

"The justification for such an eminent domain action is that our hotel will better serve the public interest as it will bring in economic development and higher tax revenue to Weare," Logan Darrow Clements of California wrote in a letter faxed to town officials in Weare on Tuesday.

Souter, a longtime Weare resident, joined in the 5-4 court decision allowing governments to seize private property from one owner and turn it over to another if doing so would benefit a community.

The letter dubbing the project the "Lost Liberty Hotel" was posted on conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh's Web site. Clements said it would include a dining room called the "Just Desserts Cafe" an a museum focused on the "loss of freedom in America."

A message seeking comment from Souter was left at his office Wednesday morning. The court has recessed and Souter was still in Washington, one of his secretaries said.

A few police cruisers were parked on the edge of Souter's property Tuesday.

"It was a precaution, just being protective," said Lt. Mark Bodanza.

Clements is the CEO of Los Angeles-based Freestar Media that fights "abusive" government through a Web site and cable show. He plans to move to New Hampshire soon as part of the Free State Project, a group that supports limiting government powers, the Monitor reported.

The letter was passed along to the board of selectmen. If the five-member board were to endorse the hotel project, zoning laws would have to be changed and the hotel would have to get approval from the planning board. Messages seeking comment were left with Laura Buono, board chairwoman.

"Am I taking this seriously? But of course," said Charles Meany, Weare's code enforcement officer. "In lieu of the recent Supreme Court decision, I would imagine that some people are pretty much upset. If it is their right to pursue this type of end, then by all means let the process begin."

Eminent Domain Protester 'believes Absolutely In What She's Doing'

Woman declines legal help after her arrest for refusing to leave NL City Hall

By RICK KOSTER · Features · Published on 9/21/2005 [in The Day, New London, CT

]

New London— There haven't been too many would-be tenants clamoring for apartments in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood.

Lauren Ann Canario, however, is an exception.

A few weeks back, Canario, a resident of Las Vegas and member of a New Hampshire-based group committed to reducing the role of the government in society, contacted Bill Von Winkle, owner of a three-story building on Smith Street in Fort Trumbull.

"She asked if I owned a building there and, if so, did I have an apartment for rent," Von Winkle said. "I told her I did, and she said, 'I'll take it.' And she did. I was insistent that she be interested in nonviolent solutions."

Von Winkle was one of the plaintiffs in the Kelo v. New London case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to stop the taking of private property for redevelopment in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood. Although the court ruled in favor of the city in June, some of the property owners, including Von Winkle, remain adamant about not relinquishing their land, buildings and houses.

Von Winkle said others from across the country have called and expressed willingness to occupy his property in defiance of eminent domain.

"Some wanted to come to town and bring high-powered sniper rifles," he said. "Obviously, I did not respond to them. But Lauren seemed to be level-headed. She's absolutely a smart and nice person."

Canario, a member of the nonprofit Free State Project, wants to build a community bulletin board in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood where people can post concerns, Von Winkle said.

"A lot of people stop by on a daily basis to express support and see what's going on," he said. "This would be her way of allowing that to happen where everyone could see it."

Canario, 48, was charged Monday night with first-degree trespass, refusal to be fingerprinted and interfering with police after refusing to leave a City Hall stairwell after a city council meeting had been canceled. The council had been scheduled to vote on a resolution declaring no confidence in the New London Development Corp., which has been the city's agent in the eminent domain project.

Canario's bail was originally set at $5,000.

Von Winkle hired New London attorney Renee Houle to represent Canario, but he said Tuesday afternoon that Houle had withdrawn representation.

"(Canario) refused to be fingerprinted and then refused to speak to the judge," Von Winkle said, "so he raised bail to $10,000. She doesn't want any help."

Houle could not be reached for comment.

Canario's husband, Jim Johnson, who lives in Las Vegas and is also a member of the Free State Project, plans to join his wife in New London. He said by phone Tuesday that he and his wife expect to eventually move to New Hampshire. He also said that he has been unable to contact his wife after her arrest and that he read about the incident in an online story in The Day.

"I called the duty sergeant (Monday) night," Johnson said, "and they wouldn't let me talk to her. But she believes absolutely in what she's doing."

According to Johnson and Von Winkle, one of the main tenets of the Free State Project is to fight eminent domain. As described in the group's Web site (www.freestateproject.org), they are attempting to draw "20,000 libertarians" to move to New Hampshire and "exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of civil government is the protection of life, liberty, and property."

The city council's plan to consider a vote of no-confidence in the NLDC had been brought on by the NLDC sending eviction notices last week to several Fort Trumbull property owners without informing state officials or the council of that plan.

Monday's council meeting was canceled after an overflow crowd was remanded to a stairwell and attempts to hold the meeting fell into chaos. In July, the fire department found a City Hall fire escape in disrepair and then set the crowd capacity for council chambers at 49 people until repairs were made.

Von Winkle said that Canario represents 6,700 people who will come to New London to prevent through nonviolence the seizure of Fort Trumbull property by the city.

"The (process servers) will have to get through all those people to get to me. It will be nonviolent, but Canario is very serious about this issue. I don't know, she'll burn the papers," Von Winkle said. "She represents the strong feelings of a lot of people who will be here to stop the government from seizing property. This woman is not afraid of the government."

Johnson, her husband, said, "Lauren knows the law. She took the civil fight as far as she could (Monday), and she was arrested. Our idea is to go to town meetings and speak, and you hope to persuade others. Which is why she was at the meeting and what she was prevented from doing."

When asked about Von Winkle's assessment that 6,700 people will be in New London if the government attempts to take the Fort Trumbull property, Johnson said, "I don't know the exact number, but I would think there are a lot of groups like ours that will be there."

About Canario's resistance to the arrest process, Von Winkle said, "Yeah, I'm still trying to digest why she's staying in jail. She's got to come out at some point. But I definitely thought she was capable of this sort of commitment. She told me that she will absolutely be one of the people who refuses to leave the property when they try to take it. She was adamant about that."

Ã¯Â¿Â½ The Day Publishing Co., 2005
For home delivery, please call 1-866-846-9099

These media articles are maintained on a non-commercial basis by The Free State Project, a non-profit organization, for historical, educational, scholarship, and research purposes. (For information regarding "Fair Use", see US Code Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 107).

Eminent Domain Abuses

As its name implies, the Bill of Rights is all about guaranteeing individual rights; exceptions are noted only for extraordinary circumstances such as war or the commission of a crime, and even then procedures must be followed strictly. Two of the

amendments specifically guarantee security in one's home, so it is strange that the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment ("... nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.") implies an exception, "for public use." This loophole addresses one important difficult situation, known as the holdout problem: if a project (e.g. a road or park) requires purchasing land from many people, a very few of them may refuse to sell at the market price and "hold out" for a much higher price that would be impossible to offer to everyone. The power of Eminent Domain, as it is known in the United States, authorizes a government to forcibly purchase land at a price that is "just" (usually interpreted to mean the market rate).

Exceptions should always be questioned, and such a power does pose obvious risks:

An owner may refuse to sell not as a greedy attempt to negotiate an exorbitant price but because he or she truly values the property at more than its market value. Common examples are an elderly resident, for whom moving would be a shock, and someone for whom the home has strong sentimental value, e.g. someone who was born in the house or whose family has lived there for generations.
The property may be assessed lower than the true market value, perhaps because of a mistake or dishonesty.

The recent Supreme Court case of Kelo vs. New London has put Eminent Domain in the news. A developer wanted to turn 90 residential acres in New London, Connecticut into commercial real estate, and persuaded the city to help obtain it from the current residents (one of whom was an 87-year-old woman who had been born in her house). The city invoked Eminent Domain under the questionable justification that the developed property would provide greater tax revenue, and thus would constitute "public use". The Supreme Court decision in favor of New London has been largely condemned by people on both the left and right (how could anyone support taking old people's houses and giving them to a heartless corporation?), but its implications are more subtle.

The result was in some ways a surreal inversion from a parallel universe: the left-wing justices, who normally oppose federalism, did not hold that government necessarily has the power to use Eminent Domain for this wider purpose, merely that the US Constitution does not forbid it. State and local governments are thus still able to enact stronger guarantees. The conservative justices, who normally support a stricter interpretation of the Constitution and favor federalism, voted in the direction of increasing individual rights, yes, but via a decrease in the states' power.

The long-term result has been cheering to both federalists and champions of individual liberty, as many individual states and cities have responded by taking action to enact laws and ordinances restricting eminent domain to prevent future New London-style abuses. Perhaps states can be trusted to do the right thing after all? People can always vote with their feet to places like New Hampshire, where takings for commercial purposes are prohibited.

For more information: Institute for Justice • Castle Coalition • Reason Public Policy Institute

...and Responses

Two clever projects have sprung up to draw attention to the Supreme Court decision in Kelo vs. New London. Both aim to take the houses of the very Supreme Court Justices that created the new unjust expansion of Eminent Domain, using their own opinions against them. Both projects have involved some participants in the Free State Project, though some other Free-Staters have denounced this method of protest or retaliation as itself unjust. The Free State Project takes no position on the projects themselves, though our position on Eminent Domain is derivable from our Statement of Intent.

Constitution Park

The Coalition of New Hampshire Taxpayers is promoting a project to seize the New Hampshire homes of Justices Souter and Breyer in order to build a "Constitution Park". The decision will be made by a vote of the townspeople.

More Links: Coalition of New Hampshire Taxpayers

Lost Liberty Hotel

In the wake of Kelo v. City of New London, private developer, Logan Darrow Clements, has applied to take possession of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Souter's New Hampshire residence for the purpose of building "The Lost Liberty Hotel," featuring the "Just Desserts Cafe," and a museum dedicated to the loss of American freedom.

Clements discussed the Lost Liberty Hotel on Fox TV's "Hannity & Colmes" on 7/22/05, and gave a nice mention of the FSP. Also appearing was a Weare resident who supported Clements.

Here are video clips:

	Windows Media (wmv)	QuickTime (mov)
FSP mention	2.8 mb	3.4 mb
Full segment	8.3 mb	10.1 mb

"It Could Happen to You!" – Hannity & Colmes follow the Lost Liberty Hotel story. Watch these interviews with FSP participant Logan Darrow Clements:
15 Dec 2005 • 16 Dec 2005

In January 2006, the Lost Liberty Hotel effort will sponsor a rally in Weare, NH, to gather signatures from Weare residents.

Interest Groups

Liaisons Corner – an on-going series of interviews with our Liaison Leaders.

While the FSP is looking for activists who support liberty for all, we can find libertarians in many different communities of ignterest, each with its own priorities and reasons for valuing freedom. It makes sense for some members of these communities to interface with their own, since they are more likely to empathize and speak the same language, figuratively speaking. This has been going on informally since the FSP's inception, but we are formalizing it a little.

Below is a list of interest groups and people assigned as liaisons. The list is not exhaustive, and the people are not exclusive. We ask that the liaisons make efforts to reach out to their communities, and we ask that anyone else doing so keep the liaisons informed, so as to coordinate activities.

Feel free to suggest additional interest groups, especially if you are willing to volunteer as a liaison yourself, if you believe that connecting with them will help further the FSP mission. Please send any feedback to the Coordinator: Wade Bartlett.

Also, you can visit the Interest Group Liaisons discussion board in the FSP Forum.

Category	Interest	Liaison (* = multiple positions)	Links
Business	Business Coordinator	Evan Nappen*
	Firearms Industry	Evan Nappen*
	Information Technology	(open)
College	College Coordinators	Rich Goldman	Web page
		Rich Weiser
		Lauren Munoz
Ethnicity	Asian-American	(open)
	Black	(open)	Essay • Yahoo group
	Hispanic	(open)
Issues	Alternative Health Care	Dr. Alva Irish	Website
	BGLT	(open)	Essay • Yahoo group
	Drug Policy Reform	(Paul Tripp)
	Economics for the Free State	(open)
	Free Schooling	(open)
	Geo-Libertarian	(open)
	Gun Rights	Evan Nappen	Web page
	Health Care in the Free State	Ben Madison	MSN group
	Health Freedom	Derek Williams	Yahoo group
	Homeschooling	(open)	Website • Yahoo group
	Informed Juries	(open)	Yahoo group
	Polyamory	Denise Penkalski	Essay • Yahoo group
	Property Rights	Auden RovelleQuartz
	Private Social Relations/Contracts	(open)
	Right Libertarians	Lynn Pina	Yahoo group
	Sexual Freedom	Gabriel McCall
	States Rights	Jim Walters	Yahoo group
Tax Issues	(open)
Religion	Atheist	(open)
	Buddhist	(open)
	Catholic	(open)
	Christian	Varrin Swearingen	Yahoo group
	Jewish	Marc Cohen	Yahoo group
	Messianic	(open)	Yahoo group
	Mormon	Kelton Baker
	Muslim	Arif Khan
	Pagan	(Seth Lemons)	Yahoo group
	Thelemic	(open)	Yahoo group
Other	Aviation/Pilots	(open)
	Biker/Motorcycle	Morey Straus	mailing list
	Blogs	(open)
	Body Freedom	(open)	Yahoo group
	Canadians	(open)
	Earth-Sheltered/Solar Homes	Brian Sullivan	Yahoo group
	Industrial Hemp	(open)
	Mensa	Lynn Pina	Yahoo group
	Objectivists	Wayne Anderson	Website
	Open Source	(Scott Russell)
	Punk Rock	(Randall Wolfe)
	Sailing/Cruising	Pat Lawler
	Self-Sufficiency Living	(open)	Web page
	Truckers	(open)
	UK/Ireland	Mike Jensen
	Vegetarians	(open)	Yahoo group
	Video Gamers	(Paul Tripp)	Yahoo group

(Some blank space above, so table entries align at top of the screen, from external links)

Original article:	www.shorepublishing.com/archive/ re.aspx?re=801d1983-f526-412a-b725-5a92183d046d
Date:	07/15/05
Title:	Protesters Decry Eminent Domain Ruling
Author:	Stephen Chupaska
Publication:	Shore Publishing

Original article:	abcnews.go.com/GMA/wireStory?id=892854
Date:	06/29/05
Title:	Proposal Made to Seize Souter's Property
Author:	AP
Publication:	ABC News

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Eminent Domain

FSP Recruits Displaced New London Residents

FSP on Hannity & Colmes

FSP Mentioned on Hannity & Colmes