Austin Petersen

Austin Wade Petersen (born February 19, 1981) is an American political commentator, online publication publisher, political activist, and businessman. Petersen, who identifies politically as a constitutional libertarian, is running for the 2016 presidential nomination for the Libertarian Party.
Early life
Petersen was born on February 19, 1981 in Independence, Missouri, and raised on a horse farm in Peculiar, Missouri. His mother died of ovarian cancer when he was a teenager, a victim of pharmacist Robert Courtney, who was convicted of pharmaceutical fraud in 2002. Petersen graduated from high school in 1999 at Raymore-Peculiar, and majored in Musical theatre at Missouri State University, from which he graduated in 2003.
From 2004-2008, Petersen appeared in various films, plays, and musicals around the country. He also worked at the FAO Schwarz toy store in Manhattan, working his way up from the floor to manager, to the corporate office. He was the spokesmodel for a clothing line for a short time, 191 Unlimited, and appeared in Time magazine as a model for Microsoft's 2006 infrastructure sales promotions.
Politics
Petersen held a job at the Libertarian National Committee in 2008, where he started as the Volunteer Coordinator, and was later promoted to Director of Outreach. He subsequently held a position at the libertarian think tank, the Atlas Economic Research Foundation. He was instrumental in pioneering a successful social media campaign that led to the launch of Judge Andrew Napolitano's show FreedomWatch on the Fox Business Network in 2010. That show was cancelled in 2012.
Petersen took a position as Director of Production with FreedomWorks, before leaving to start his own ventures in 2013. Petersen has appeared multiple times on RT to discuss issues ranging from alternative media, climate change, and the right to vote. He currently owns and operates Stonegait LLC, a media and consulting firm, and is publisher of the online libertarian news magazine, The Libertarian Republic.
Petersen is a frequent contributor on Fox News and Fox Business. He lives and works from Kansas City, Missouri.
Petersen is opposed to some fundamental Libertarian positions, such as the NAP (non-aggression principle), one of two foundation principles of libertarianism.
Petersen has many nicknames attributed to him by his fans, such as the "Freedom Ninja," and "Leif Bieberson," after conspiracy theory radio host Alex Jones suggested he looked like Leif Garrett and Justin Bieber.
He supported the presidential campaign of Republican Party candidate Rand Paul, including a collaboration with PurplePAC in August 2015. This collaboration took place one month prior to the news that Petersen would be seeking the Libertarian Party nomination in September 2015. Petersen also supported Gary Johnson in 2012 as a Republican presidential candidate, and again in the same election cycle when Johnson ran for president as a Libertarian.

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