N.H. tax evader prepares for raid, but marshals bide their time

By Philip Elliott, Associated Press Writer  |  January 19, 2007

CONCORD, N.H. --A former militia man convicted of tax evasion prepared for a government siege Friday as his supporters called for more people to show up at his fortress-like home and fight his arrest.

Ed Brown said he was ready for a swarm of federal agents to descend on his property to execute an arrest warrant. His wife and his supporters said they believe a confrontation could turn violent.

U.S. marshals said they have no plans to attack Ed Brown's home in Plainfield or act quickly on a warrant for his arrest.

But Brown said he is prepared for a swarm of federal agents to descend on his property, while some supporters said government aggression could lead to another Waco, Ruby Ridge, or Oklahoma City bombing.

"If Mexico came up on my land and tried to take my land, would I not fight?" Brown said. "The United States is the same exact thing as Mexico in this state. It's a fact of law."

Brown and his wife, Elaine, were convicted Thursday of plotting to conceal their income and avoid paying federal income tax. They argue the tax is illegitimate and no one is required to pay it.

Elaine Brown, a dentist who earned most of the couple's income, was wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet and staying at her son's home in Worcester, Mass., pending the couple's sentencing in April.

She said she had no plans to return to Plainfield, where she also fears there will be a violent confrontation.

"I fear for his life, but his honor is more important to him than his life," Elaine Brown told an internet radio host earlier this week. "Thousands of people across the country have called and e-mailed in support of him and his principles. ... I pray that he will survive this, and that we can be together again in this life; surely we will be together in the next."

Ed Brown said Friday he hadn't talked to his wife and didn't expect to.
"It has destroyed my marriage. They have turned her into a basket case. She's a basket case. They ruined her life," Brown said.

The Browns' anti-tax argument has found its niche online, where supporters ranged from militia members to libertarians and anti-tax groups to fringe presidential candidates. Ed Brown is a former militia member.

"It's spreading like wildfire," he said. "Critical mass is probably beginning to pop now worldwide."

Rick Stanley, a Denver-based Web radio host and a militia leader, urged listeners to join Brown at his home.

"We are continuing to ask patriots to surround Ed Brown's property and life with a ring of armed Americans with firearms and video cameras to protect a fellow American. ... This is the line in the sand. This is the flashpoint. This is the time of raised pitchforks."
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2007/01/19/
nh_tax_evader_prepares_for_raid_but_marshals_bide_their_time/