Tax dodgers taunt police from hilltop compound

cnn ^ | 6-21-07

[LouAvul]

PLAINFIELD, New Hampshire (AP) -- To avoid serving prison sentences for tax evasion, Ed Brown and his wife, Elaine, have locked themselves off from the world on their own terms.

From behind the 8-inch concrete walls of their 110-acre hilltop compound, the couple taunt police and SWAT teams and play to reporters and government-haters with references to past standoffs that turned deadly.

Residents want the Browns' circus to end before their small town along the Connecticut River becomes the next Ruby Ridge or Waco.

The Browns raised the specter of the first case, the 1992 shootout at an Idaho property called Ruby Ridge, by holding a news conference Monday with Randy Weaver, whose wife and child were killed there along with a deputy U.S. marshal.

Ed Brown warned authorities they wouldn't take him alive: "We either walk out of here free or we die."

The Browns were sentenced in absentia to 63-month prison sentences in April, after being convicted of conspiring to evade taxes on nearly $1.9 million in Elaine Brown's income and of plotting to disguise large financial transactions.

Though they have refused to leave the compound, U.S. Marshal Stephen Monier insists he has no plans to raid it to make them serve their time and will instead seek a peaceful surrender.

Expert observers praise the authorities' hands-off approach, but patience is wearing thin for Plainfield's 2,400 residents. Town selectmen recently asked Monier to stop the influx of militiamen and other anti-government groups to the Browns' home and to bring the couple to justice.

[LouAvul]

But, if we don't pay our taxes, how will the 30 million or so illegal invaders survive in America?

Most importantly, how will our fat, bloated politicians fund their lifestyles?

[cripplecreek]

As much as I agree with them, begging for martyrdom is more than just a little stupid.

[FReepaholic]

...From behind the 8-inch concrete walls of their 110-acre hilltop compound...

Don't you just love the media's use of imflammatory adjectives?

Isn't the width of a standard concrete block about 8 inches?

So, I guess I live in a "compound" also. Come and get me coppers!!

[TexasAg1996]

Good grief, not this again.

They didn't pay their taxes. They got caught. They went on trial. They claimed the 16th Amendment was not ratified, so they didn't owe their taxes. Multiple courts have rejected their argument. Lo and behold, they got convicted. They got sentenced to 5+ years in prison.

Now, they've barricaded themselves into their compound and are claiming they'll shoot anyone who tries to take them into custody. Real stable people.

While many folks around here (including me) don't like paying taxes and think our government wastes most of our tax money, this is NOT the case you want to use to prove your point. Crackpots like this who want to be martyrs are not the best example of how wasteful our government is or how we need tax reform. Supporting these folks just makes it look like tax reformers will support any crackpot that comes along.

[CindyDawg]

Is the media suggesting a “show down”? Waco, IMO, would have ended a lot differently, if we had waited them out.

[pjr12345]

They should renounce their citizenships, and immediately apply for Z visas. Their taxes are forgiven, and they go on as if nothing ever happened.

[JRios1968]

[CindyDawg]

There you go. There is always a way out if you look hard enough for it.

[MrB]

They are nutcases,

but they do illustrate that anything the government does is backed by the

INHERENT THREAT OF DEADLY FORCE.

Everyone needs to keep this fact foremost in their minds.

[cripplecreek]

They’re using the threat of deadly force as well.

[gracesdad]

Nutcases.

[MrB]

No deadly force will be used if the government officials don’t attempt to take their property or liberty.

But, that’s what government exists for.

[Noumenon]

Looks to me like they picked the wrong hill to die on.

[Lurker]

Just stick up a sign that says "Plainfield CT Prison" and put a couple cops on lawn chairs out there for the next decade.

They built a nice prison for themselves. Let 'em enjoy it.

They'll come out when they run out of food.

Or not.

L

[cubreporter]

All authorities have to do is wait them out. They will have to come out eventually and they will no doubt run out of food and water. I hope the authorities will be patient and not make this another Waco that was under clintin and reno.

[cubreporter]

All authorities have to do is wait them out. They will have to come out eventually and they will no doubt run out of food and water. I hope the authorities will be patient and not make this another Waco that was under clintin and reno.

[SmoothTalker]

They should be locked up. Nobody can get on illegals for breaking the law and say these folks should get off scot-free. Should the tax system be reformed? Yes but breaking the law isn’t the way to do it. These idiots are discrediting a lot of legitimate tax activists.

[TChris]

They are nutcases, but they do illustrate that anything the government does is backed by the INHERENT THREAT OF DEADLY FORCE. Everyone needs to keep this fact foremost in their minds.

That's a very important fact. You could reduce it to this: Government is force.

So, when creating legislation, people should ask themselves: "What should a free people be forced to do or to not do?"

That list should be pretty short, IMO.

[bkepley]

No deadly force will be used if the government officials don’t attempt to take their property or liberty. But, that’s what government exists for.

Of course it does and I support that function of government since I'm not an anarchist. If these people kill a policeman trying to do his duty they're cop-killers.

[jazusamo]

Both are looneytoons.