evidence: FACT CHECK: Did Thomas Jefferson Say, ‘When The People Fear The Government, There Is Tyranny’? An image shared on Facebook claims that founding father Thomas Jefferson said, "When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty." [...] Social media users frequently ascribe sayings to Jefferson, a founding father and later the third president. (RELATED: Did Thomas Jefferson Say That Big Government Could ‘Take Everything You Have’?)