Since the commencement of the Liberty Navy’s Vespucci campaign early last year, rumors have abounded throughout Liberty regarding members of the Insurgency seeking refuge within the Libertonian protectorate of Pennsylvania. While both the Liberty Navy and LPI have denied any such rumors, freshly leaked documents from within the Liberty Security Force suggest that these claims have in fact been seriously investigated.

According to a preliminary report, the LSF has gathered actionable evidence indicating that swaths of insurgents and their families have fled the ongoing military operation in the Kansas and Vespucci systems, finding refuge on the semi-autonomous planet Erie. In the face of these developments, voices within Congress, the intelligence community, and the military are now calling for a more thorough investigation of the situation to be conducted by the LSF on Erie.

However, Erie’s local government has thus far rejected such demands, citing provisions of the treaties signed by Liberty granting Erie jurisdiction over matters of immigration, asylum, and deportation. An LSF spokesperson has responded, stating that granting refuge to criminals, terrorists, and enemy combatants is a direct violation of Libertonian law and the treaties. Further, the Liberty government and military maintain authority over the system of Pennsylvania in all military matters - including the seizure and arrest of enemy personnel.

Whether Erie will concede to Liberty’s demand or whether the matter will instead be taken to court remains unclear for the time being. This act of insubordination from the protectorate’s government is only the latest in an ever expanding list. Relations between Erie and Liberty have been on a steady decline for years, and the Vespucci campaign has done little to mend them. Complaints about brutal military and police operations, dangerous debris left behind after battle, and abuse of power by the Navy, LPI, and LSF have mounted ever since Liberty commenced its assault on the insurgent hideouts in the neighboring Kansas and Vespucci systems.

Experts suggest that Liberty’s investigation into the Insurgency’s presence on Planet Erie may further fan the flames of civil unrest within the protectorate, and may even be cause for an outright secession of the Pennsylvania system from the Republic.