Reporting from the road to Grand Rapids

Scott Horton appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience — Episode #2500 recently.

Scott is the editor of AntiWar.com, director of the Libertarian Institute, host of "The Scott Horton Show," co-host of "Provoked" with Darryl Cooper, and author of several books, the most recent of which is "Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War With Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine."

He is a keynote speaker at the Libertarian National Convention and to Sunday's Rage Against The War Machine Rally. He is joined by Dr. Tom Woods in discussing a preview of the rally. Watch the video below.

Delegates arriving in Grand Rapids face a defining strategic question: whether to grow the Libertarian Party through a deliberate, coalitional approach — or to double down on a sharper, message-first identity that prioritizes ideological clarity above all.

Both paths claim a serious theory of change. The coalition path argues that public trust in the major parties is collapsing, and that a maturing party should consolidate caucuses, professionalize operations, and turn outward to capture a moment. The messaging path counters that without an unmistakable, radical voice the LP becomes indistinguishable from its competitors — and irrelevant.

What's at stake in May is not just a chair election. It is the operating premise of the party for the next four years.

Based on the reporting of LP Hawai'i chair and Region 1 Alternate Austin Martin, he identifies a responsible party for all the intraparty mischief: an international network of activists and non-governmental agencies (NGO) that have set up shop in the United States as the "International Alliances of Libertarian Parties" (IALP). IALP members reject the traditional non-intervention position of the libertarian movement and encourage American intervention in foreign conflicts. For example, the IALP has been denounced by the government of Russia for its support of Ukraine and NATO. Their members denounce the US LP as right-wing authoritarian and label thought leaders such as Scott Horton as a Russian asset.

Martin also identifies a network of domestic groups including the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which was recently indicted criminally for encouraging hate crime through their paid informant networks to generate scandals. The SPLC has publicized several exposés targeting the Libertarian Party through identified informants to cause disruption.

There also exists in the mindset of Libertarian Party leadership that ballot access is vital over everything else. They, too, form a network across other small parties and vendors to control ballot access opportunities. These ballot access opportunities are profitable agreements with the legacy parties to pull the lever for which side the spoiler candidates will help.

Could intraparty disputes be the result of these converging interests fighting behind the scenes for control of the message and spoiler selection of the Libertarian Party?

After all, none of the groups need conspiracy to operate but they share the same goals. Comedian George Carlin once said, "You don't need a formal conspiracy when interests converge."

Ross Ulbricht created Silk Road, an online marketplace built on Bitcoin that enabled voluntary trade between consenting adults. Federal authorities arrested him in 2013; he was sentenced to double life plus forty years without parole.

Lyn Ulbricht became one of the most visible advocates for her son, spending more than a decade speaking, organizing, and building support across the country. In January 2025, President Trump granted Ross a full and unconditional pardon — eleven years into his sentence.

His release stands as a major victory for sustained advocacy by libertarians, crypto users, and justice-reform supporters. Lyn's work continues through Mothers Against Cruel Sentencing.

Roman Storm, a developer associated with Tornado Cash, faces serious charges for creating privacy-enhancing software on the Ethereum blockchain. A 2025 jury convicted Storm on one count but deadlocked on the more serious charges; prosecutors continue to pursue a retrial.

Crypto prosecutions carry devastating consequences for individuals and innovation. Developers, entrepreneurs, and operators of privacy tools and decentralized protocols routinely face massive fines, asset seizures, and lengthy prison sentences for victimless offenses.

Libertarians recognize that true justice requires ending the criminalization of victimless acts. Financial privacy is essential to liberty — without it, every economic choice becomes subject to surveillance and control.