We're Now on Substack!

Dear Patriots,

Today, I’m proud to announce that Independent American Patriots has officially launched on Substack.

We just moved our mailing list from our current provider to Substack.

• If you have a Substack account, there’s nothing you need to do other than join us there. If you don’t have an account, you can join by clicking the button below.

• If by chance, you have not received an email from us through Substack, please click the link below to subscribe.

You should continue to receive emails from us, but you can also visit our Substack to see all articles.

This move gives us a powerful new home where we can speak freely, deliver hard-hitting analysis, exclusive content, and direct updates straight to you without Big Tech interference. Substack allows us to build a stronger, more direct connection with our community — the real backbone of this nation.

We will continue fighting for the same principles that founded this great Republic: limited government, individual liberty, secure borders, fair elections, and the rule of law. But now we’ll do it with even greater reach and resilience.

Please join us on Substack today.

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It’s free to follow. Every single one of you who joins makes our voice louder. In these critical times, we need committed patriots more than ever — men and women who love this country, honor its history, and are willing to defend its future.

Together, we will champion the values of the American Family

Thank you for your unwavering support. I look forward to seeing you over on Substack, where the real conversation continues.

Stay strong. Stay free. God Bless America.

In liberty,

Independent American Patriots

Date: May 1st, 2026

My Fellow Independent American Patriots,

I write this letter with a heavy heart but with deep gratitude for the journey we have shared.

The Independent American Patriots began as the Independent American Party in 1993, founded in Utah by Will Christensen, Wayne Hill, and John Poulson. Inspired by Ezra Taft Benson’s speech “The Proper Role of Government”, the party grew from a state affiliate to a national organization in 1998. For over 25 years, it championed constitutional principles (life, liberty, property, traditional families, patriotism, and national sovereignty) fielding candidates, raising awareness, and earning votes in presidential and state races. In 2012 and 2016, our presidential candidates appeared on ballots in multiple states. At its peak, the Utah affiliate alone had over 80,000 registered members.

In February 2023, I was elected National Chairman of a party that had become severely behind on federal obligations and was, in many ways, a shell of its former self. With the passing of our founders in 2021, non-compliance with FEC filings, and expired corporate status in several states, the National and Executive Committees voted unanimously on July 4, 2023, to dissolve the political party structure and reorganize as the Independent American Patriots Private Membership Association (IAP PMA). This was a deliberate, member-driven decision to move beyond the constraints of party politics and focus on education, self-sufficiency, and community resilience under the protections of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

We finalized our governing documents (Articles of Association, Membership Agreement, and Charter of Rights, Bylaws, Ordinances, & Expectances) in June 2025 and ratified them at our Members Convention on July 10, 2025. We secured a Wyoming virtual office, a new EIN, and began operating as a non-statutory compliant private membership association. For a time, it felt like a new beginning.

Yet the economic realities of the past few years proved too difficult to overcome. Inflation, rising costs of food, housing, and energy have strained nearly every American family, including my own. As a disabled veteran on a fixed income, I have personally witnessed how these pressures have made even basic membership renewals and donations difficult for many. Despite our best efforts to reduce expenses to the bare minimum ($120 per month plus ~$1,200 in annual fixed costs), and despite Leslie and me covering the lion’s share of those costs out of pocket for years, the organization has not generated enough member support to sustain itself. We have reduced operations to an absolute minimum, but with current treasury balances under $400 and no meaningful influx of new memberships or donations in recent drives, we simply do not have the resources to continue as we have.

We also recognize that other independent voices continue their important work. The first state Independent American Party, the Nevada affiliate (the oldest in the movement), is doing well and working effectively with the Constitution Party. I recently spoke with the new chairman of the Utah State Independent American Party, who expressed support for our common ground in the future. He affirmed their commitment to being an independent voice in Utah, and we wish them well in their endeavors. These state parties operate independently, and we respect their paths as we have pursued our own.

Before closing this chapter, we wish to express our profound gratitude to Freedom Books. Founded by our late founder Will Christensen, and lovingly managed by his daughter after his passing, Freedom Books generously offered its remaining inventory to help sustain the IAP. Though our difficult financial situation ultimately prevented us from fully utilizing or retrieving the collection, we remain deeply thankful for the box of materials they sent us, which we were able to distribute to members who expressed interest. This act of goodwill and shared commitment to patriot principles will not be forgotten.

We also extend our heartfelt thanks to every member who supported the National Independent American Party and the Independent American Patriots over the years—through your time, your donations, your encouragement, and your shared belief in our mission. Your contributions helped keep the flame of liberty burning far longer than it might have otherwise. We are especially grateful to those who stepped up to help over the years; ultimately, this came down to an issue of funding and bad timing considering the current economic conditions.

To those who courageously ran for President, Congress, Governor, or local office under the Independent American Party banner (and to those who, in some cases, continue to strive to represent the people to this day) we offer our deepest admiration. To every patriot who picked up a sign, bought a bumper sticker, attended an event, donated a dollar they could scarcely spare, or simply showed up for a meeting: you are the quiet backbone of this movement. You represent the 45% of Independent Americans who see through the left-right red herring and understand that both sides have too often taken away rights and impoverished the people. We are profoundly thankful to those who showed up for town halls and get-togethers or sat through preparedness classes, quietly building the knowledge and community that will matter most in the days ahead. You are the true Independent American Patriots who will survive and thrive when the American people finally turn away from the destruction wrought by the political parties.

After careful consideration and consultation with the remaining stewards, we have reached an agreement to preserve the IAP PMA’s legacy rather than allow it to fade entirely. THE PAMPHLET LLC (my family’s publishing company) has agreed to acquire and steward the remaining operations for at least the next four years. This transition will allow us to maintain the website, archive our history and principles, and keep the IAP PMA’s mission alive through educational content, pamphlets, and resources focused on the Founding Fathers, constitutional governance, and patriot values. Leadership within the IAP retains its stewardship roles during this memorialization or stasis period, but day-to-day operations are suspended unless interest and funding pick up. We believe the principles of the Independent American Patriots will be well represented by The Pamphlet LLC in the future as they continue to work to present the Principles of the Founding Fathers in historical pamphlets that remind us of where we come from so that we can deal with the challenges of today. It is not a dissolution of the PMA itself, but a private stewardship transition that honors our governing documents and gives the organization the best chance for future revival if interest returns.

In the coming days, we will provide clear instructions on how members can stay connected:

- Subscribe to THE PAMPHLET’s newsletter for updates, historical content, and educational materials that carry forward the IAP mission.

- Ways to support the IAP legacy through donations or purchases that help sustain the archive and future publications.

While this chapter ends in its current form, the principles we fought for (liberty, self-sufficiency, faith, virtue, law, knowledge, and constitutional governance) do not. Those principles live on in each of you and in the work, we will continue our fight through THE PAMPHLET.

To every member who stood with us through the years; through campaigns, reorganizations, and challenges, thank you. Your support, your emails, and your shared commitment meant everything. We are proud of what we built together, even if the path forward looks different than we hoped.

We will continue to fight for the vision of independent American patriots in the ways we can. The light may be dim for a time, but it has not gone out, in fact it is often darkest before dawn. Stay vigilant.

With deepest gratitude and hope for what is yet to come,

Lonny Ray Williams

Last National Chairman, Independent American Party (2023–2025)

President, Independent American Patriots Private Membership Association (2025–2026)

Independent American Patriots

C/O THE PAMPHLET

PO Box 351

Republic WA

99166

In our close-knit community and hometown of the Independent American Patriots, we still cherish old-fashioned values: honest work, neighborly respect, and the freedom to think for ourselves. This week, a local party statement tested those values. An independent candidate, a firefighter, Marine veteran, father, and coach planned a visit to our rural county. Instead of basic welcome, the response framed anyone not declaring Republican as actively working “to tear down this country.”

This kind of rhetoric hurts. It turns neighbors into suspects and civic duty into suspicion. Many of us who love this country deeply, independent conservatives, liberty-minded folks, homesteaders, veterans, and those wary of party machinery feel the sting. We reject the false choice that loyalty to one party is the only proof of patriotism.

The Real Problem: Faction Over Principle

Our Founders understood the danger all too well. Anti-Federalist writers, those vigilant defenders of liberty during the ratification debates, repeatedly warned that powerful factions and centralized interests could fracture the young Republic, pitting citizen against citizen. Founding Fathers Brutus and Cato cautioned that consolidated power in distant hands, combined with partisan loyalties, would erode self-government and replace fidelity to constitutional principles with blind allegiance to factions.

Even James Madison, in Federalist No. 10, acknowledged factions as a natural outgrowth of liberty groups united by passion or interest adverse to the rights of others. Yet the Anti-Federalists pushed further, fearing that without strong safeguards, a distant national government would enable minority factions (or elite interests) to dominate, while majority factions could oppress through sheer numbers. They advocated keeping power close to the people through strong states, local control, and a healthy skepticism of concentrated authority.

George Washington himself later warned against “the baneful effects of the spirit of party” in his Farewell Address, seeing how factions could distract from the common good. Today, the two-party duopoly often fuels exactly what the Founders feared. The “with us or against us” mindset turns politics into tribal warfare. It distracts from the real challenges facing rural areas: federal overreach into our farms, businesses, and homeschools; economic pressures squeezing working families; threats to states’ rights and self-sufficiency; and distant bureaucracies that seem deaf to our realities.

When we label fellow citizens as enemies simply for refusing party affiliation or daring to run as independents, we weaken the Republic. A fellow citizen willing to invest time and resources in visiting small communities like ours, listening directly to voters deserves basic respect. Small-town welcoming charm once meant hearing people out before judging them. In an era of declining trust, we seem to have forgotten that.

Rural Realities

Here in the beautiful Highlands, these divisions feel especially costly. Rural communities grapple with aging infrastructure, shrinking populations in some areas, pressures on family farms and resource-based economies, and a sense that decisions made in state capitals or Washington, D.C. rarely reflect our lived experience. Veterans, working parents, and independent citizens often feel caught between partisan lines that prioritize national narratives over local solutions.

The independent candidate’s visit highlights a simple truth: people are seeking alternatives because the parties aren’t delivering on core promises such as secure borders, economic opportunity, limited government, and protection of constitutional rights. Dismissing such efforts outright, before any real dialogue occurs, only deepens cynicism.

A Better Path: Unity Through Principles

True civic unity doesn’t come from demanding party loyalty. It comes from shared commitment to higher ideals that transcend factions:

• Respect for Fellow Citizens: Treating those who run for office or simply hold different views with the dignity we expect for ourselves. Disagreement is healthy and necessary in a republic; dehumanizing rhetoric is corrosive. A simple acknowledgment of someone’s willingness to serve, even if we ultimately disagree, upholds the spirit of self-government.

• Principle Over Party: Judging ideas and candidates by whether they uphold the Constitution, strengthen families, protect individual liberty, return power to states and local communities, and promote self-reliance. Anti-Federalist wisdom reminds us that no party or faction should become a substitute for personal virtue and informed judgment.

• Informed Independence: Doing our own research, asking hard questions about veterans’ support, economic self-sufficiency, homeschool freedoms, and limiting bureaucratic overreach. This is the essence of republican citizenship not following scripts, but reasoning from founding principles.

• Rejection of False Binaries: Refusing the notion that America’s future depends on victory for one team. Millions of thoughtful conservatives, classical liberals, and independents understand that real patriotism means putting country and Constitution above party. Rural strength has always been its rugged individualism and community bonds the ability to disagree without destroying relationships.

Our experience as the Independent American Patriots have taught us that simple local solutions that represent the independent 45% of the population are often better than partisan bickering. We encourage our fellow citizens to practice principled civics emphasizing mutual respect and local wisdom first instead of blind loyalty to cultlike extremes of the left and right.

Recommitting to Restoration

At the Independent America Patriots, our mission is to revive these founding-era voices for a new generation. Through historical essays, constitutional studies, and reflections on self-sufficiency, we aim to equip citizens with the wisdom needed to navigate division. The Anti-Federalists may not have won every argument during ratification, but their cautions about power, factions, and the need for vigilant citizenship remain profoundly relevant.

In times like these, we have a choice. We can allow partisan rhetoric to further fracture our communities, or we can model a better way: listening with open minds where possible, speaking with clarity and charity, and standing together on the enduring rock of liberty, virtue, and honest debate.

America still holds great potential when we remember who we are: not mere party operatives, but sovereign citizens entrusted with the Republic’s care. By treating one another with basic respect and measuring actions against timeless principles, we take small but meaningful steps toward restoring the civic unity that once defined us.

The path forward lies not in louder divisions, but in quieter recommitments to the ideals that bind us as neighbors and countrymen.

By Leslie Williams National Secretary,

Independent American Patriots

May 22, 2026