Army Ranger Adrian Bonenberger has just thrown his hat in the ring for Governor of Connecticut — as an independent. In a wide-ranging conversation with host Paul Rieckhoff, Bonenberger unveils the centerpiece of his campaign: reviving the Connecticut State Guard as a voluntary, citizen-soldier force that would decentralize defense, create meaningful service opportunities for ordinary Americans, and counter the overreach of a federal government that has increasingly turned law enforcement into a militarized tool against its own citizens.
The two combat veterans pull no punches on ICE — comparing its enforcement culture to the military’s “warrior ethos” and explaining why deploying a kill-or-be-killed mindset against civilians is not just dangerous, but a fundamental betrayal of the founders’ vision. Bonenberger draws on his experiences training troops in Afghanistan and volunteer fighters in Ukraine to make the case that America’s civil-military divide is a national security vulnerability — and that a voluntary state guard is the constitutional remedy hiding in plain sight.
Bonenberger also reflects on post-industrial New England, why Congress is effectively unfixable, ballot access hurdles facing independent candidates, and why he believes the governor’s office is where real change can happen on day one.
