Manedwolf
member
Local here, in Concord, NH...I'd keep an eye on this! Are they going to raid, negotiate or what? The guy's off the grid, so there's nothing they can shut off... and the house has eight-inch cement walls, plus there's armed supporters inside.
Also from a few hours ago:
Couple guilty on all counts in tax evasion trial
By PHILIP ELLIOTT
Associated Press Writer
44 minutes ago
CONCORD – A federal jury found a Plainfield couple guilty Thursday of failing to pay their federal income taxes for a decade - but only the wife was in court.
The jury continued deliberations over whether Elaine and Ed Brown should lose their home, and sentencing was expected later in the day.
Ed Brown stopped attending court midway through the trial. He has holed up with armed supporters in the couple's cement-walled house and has said he will defend himself against capture if necessary.
A man who answered the telephone at the Browns' house Thursday afternoon said Ed Brown could not come to the phone, but had expected a guilty verdict.
"He's here at the house, and he's not leaving of his own free will," said the man, who identified himself only as Bernie. He said Brown had not spoken with his wife since learning of the jury's decision.
U.S. Marshal Stephen Monier said Wednesday he had no plans for an immediate confrontation and did not want to escalate the situation. He was not immediately available for comment Thursday.
The Browns, who were charged with conspiring to evade taxes, conspiring to disguise large financial transactions and disguising large transactions, maintained there was no law requiring them to pay federal income taxes.
Elaine Brown, a dentist who earned most of the couple's income, attended proceedings and accepted a court-appointed attorney to help her. She considered, then rejected a plea bargain earlier this week.
She testified she had tried to work out a payment plan with the Internal Revenue Service in the early 1990s after her tax bill significantly exceeded her estimates one year, the Concord Monitor reported.
She said the IRS didn't respond for months, then demanded that she pay her bill in full, plus interest and penalties, even though she had made payments. She said she eventually refused to pay when she later learned of an additional fine for $3,300 and the money was seized from her bank account.
Ed Brown, a retired exterminator, stayed home to protest a system he said had already convicted him and a media he said was in search of soundbites over truth.
"Most Americans would cower and cringe and raise their hands and surrender like a good little slave," he told reporters at his home this week.
"I won't. Under no circumstances. I do not tolerate cowardliness, oppression, bulliness, and I certainly don't tolerate a federal agency that has absolutely zero jurisdiction in my state, never mind in my county, in my town."
During the past few decades, Brown has claimed membership in several anti-government and militia groups including the Constitution Rangers of the Continental Congress of 1777, the Constitution Defense Militia and the UnAmerican Activities Investigations Commission, which he founded.
Also from a few hours ago:
Several supporters -- including one who brought a gun -- have already come to his aid, vowing they will stand guard against government agents who would come for Brown.
"If they're coming, we will do what we've got to do," said John Miller of Farmington, one of about a half-dozen supporters at Browns' house yesterday.
