Ed and Elaine Brown arrested

[ErsatzAnatchist]

Time to open a new poll / contest:

What additional charges will be filed against them, how soon before a grand jury returns indictments, and how many more years are tacked onto their sentences?

Answers: Many Additional Charges; indictments have already been entered (although new ones may also be forthcoming), but are under seal; and the Browns are looking at more than 20 years extra time, probably served concurrently with tax related sentences.

[.]

to keep two formerly productive Americans in prison

Well, one, anyway. But, an argument Sybil might try to make, whether one or two.

Has Ed killed any bugs lately? Didn't he used to be an exterminator? Years ago? Before he glommed onto Elaine? Back when he had to work to avoid living under a bridge?

[LPC]

For sale or rent: Strangely furnished home on 103 acres in rural New Hampshire. Concrete construction, wind and solar power. Comes fully armed, with 360 degree field of fire. Previously defended. Immediate occupancy.

[Dezcad]

As frustrating as it was to watch Ed and Elaine Brown thumb their noses at the US Marshalls and to watch the circus surrounding them, I am very happy that this has ended peacefully. Kudos to the US Marshalls for executing their game plan.

[Evil Squirrel Overlord]

I give double kudos to the Marshalls, they did a god job of ending this peacefully.

[Imalawman]

I give double kudos to the Marshalls, they did a god job of ending this peacefully.

Well, I wouldn't exactly say it was that good. But kudos indeed. Its times like these that I'm glad no one in federal law enforcement listens to me. Personally, I think they let this get a little out hand, it could've been done months ago, but it worked out well in the end and got a couple other TPs in jail.

[Demosthenes]

Commments on the Union Leader website:

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx ... 7b3f85c022

Big thumbs up for the US Marshalls!!!! Good job to all involved.
- Tim, Derry

Mr. Monier treated our fellow citizens with dignity. The world was watching, and the dispute was resolved PEACEFULLY. Thank God we have wise men in our Justice Department who have the proper temperance and restraint in the performance of their duties. Respect for law enforcement just increased ten-fold today.
- Steve, Manch

Mike Delahunty, that debunked battlecry of the ignorant has been answered repeatedly. It's called the 16th AMENDMENT. "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration." Read your own Constitution, will you?
- Mike R., Bedford

Ha! Good to see the big tough rich people in their big mansion got taken down without a single shot fired. They talked tough because they thought the feds wouldn't do anything. Looks like they're wrong.
- Brent Fisher, Bedford, NH

Mike in Sutton: the IRS is not losing case after case. They have lost a few cases on technicalities and any other ones handed down by some weirdo judge are promptly overturned. When looking for a legal precedent you can't just pick and choose the ones you want, you have to look at all of them. And when you look at all of them, it tells you you have to pay taxes. Get over that.
- Tom, Manchester

It's funny how they actually thought they could get away with it.
- Allen, Londonderry

It's about time!
- Shawna, Manchester

I hope all those people out there celibrating the Browns being taken into custody by Federal Marshalls are just as happy when they can't pay their mortgages anymore and the same marshals are throwing them out of their homes and out onto the street.
- Joe, Derry, NH

About time. To Mike in Sutton, no one needs to show you the law. The Browns were just convicted of breaking that law. All the proof you need is right there.
- Chip, Bow

I strongly disagree with treating people who don't pay taxes as criminals.
- Jacob Halbrooks, Hudson, MA

It's about time! Good job to the law enforcement officers who got them without anyone getting killed or hurt.
- David, Fremont

ok a quick lesson for everyone. Law comes in two forms, statutory law, and case law which is also known as judge written law. Even if the initial law was to ambiguous to be enforceable, this issue has clearly been decided many time previously by judges, thereby setting a precedence and establishing case law, which has the same enforceability as statutory law. Hence income tax has the mandate of law behind it. It is legal. Case closed. I think it is very presumptuous of all of you freeloaders out there looking to get something for nothing to implicate that you are better versed in law than all of the ruling judges on this issue, both past and present.
- sean G, Hooksett

These people are a menace to society. I'm glad no law enforcement personnel were injured while effecting the arrest of these criminals. Good riddance to the Browns.
- Joe, Wilton

Adam F. has it exactly right. The Free Staters lost whatever credibility they had left when they started backing these criminals. Time for them to leave. Hearing that the Browns had been captured this morning completely made my day. I hope they now charge them with everything they can come up with to add on more prison time. I never want to hear about these two ever again.
- Peter, Jaffrey

Any idea how much the compound is going to sell for? Score one for the good guys. Let's not forget the criminal threatening charges to go along with weapons charges.
- Steve, Derry

Show me the law. The IRS has been losing case after case in court. It has been ruled in federal court that income tax applies only to profit, interest and capital gains. Google "Tom Cryer and IRS". Not all of your wages are profit. As the first commenter noted, the Browns did an excellent job of keeping this issue in the news where it belongs. And to the many sheep who have posted here, the many feedom loving Patriots who have historically called NH their home would be ashamed of you. Vote Freedom First!
- Mike Delahunty, Sutton

To Joe of Louisville, KY Yes because taxes are just for the greedy government officials, it's not like they go to pay for our public services and law enforcement or anything......
- Benjamin, Bedford

The Red Sox are one game up, the Yankees lost, the Patriots are 4-0 and the Browns are finally in jail. All is good in NH!
- mike, whitefield

While I do not agree with what these two did I am amazed at some of the comments here. In fact they had a valid point and if we all took a look at what we pay in taxes compared to how they(the government) spend it maybe we would see things a little different? Not sure what "the New hampshire Way" had to do with this because it was US Marshalls not NH law enforcement doing this. The reality is they at least had the courage to question the tax burden placed on us and the legality of taking it. I can only say that there are many circumstances when I do not agree or condone how my tax dollars get spent. Many here make it sound like they are guiltless in this life and that they can make judgement on something they probably know very little about.
- Bill B, Pelham

Joe from Louisville-----Please get a clue. Pay your taxes and live a normal life. No reason to fight everything. If you don't like it, move to another country. There are plenty of countries out there looking for people. I think everyone is glad Ed and Elaine are locked up. Now lets move on to more important news events.
- Roscoe Rules, Manchester

The Brown's main objective was to publicize the illegality of the income tax. They succeeded in educating many people about the tyranny of our Federal government. Unfortunately, a lot of people will choose to continue to live in slavery out of sheer laziness and stupidity.
- Joe, Louisville, KY

Hats off to Marshall Stephen Monier for handling this situation the "New Hampshire Way" . Congratulations.
- Mike N., Claremont,NH

Three cheers for the Marshalls service!!!!!!!!! Both your diligence and your patience are to be commended. You folks did a fine job: no injuries, and you collared 2 convictrd felons in the process. Hopefully they both get additional time for being felons in possession of firearms. It is about time that these two criminals have the privilege of paying their debt to society, and also for being reminded that they are no better or worse than the rest of us. Maybe they'll both have the time to discover the error of their ways and study the Constitution AND the record for ratification of the tax statutes. They both sorely need the education.
- Ed, Bennington, NH

Good riddance.
- Adam Wells, Manchester

Maybe now the "Free stater" carpetbaggers will leave and go to some empty state in the midwest! Note to any reading this...we do not want you free state nuts here! Go home! Don't be coming into quiet New Hampshire with your militia moonbat tinfoil nuttery, we like our state the way it is! GO HOME!
- Adam F., Merrimack

Wow. Sounds like they were already jailed up in their home anyway. Good luck to them, they made wrong choices.
- Vanessa, Manchester

Finally, the Browns can pay their debt to society. Commit a crime, go to jail. Hopefully we won't have to hear their names for 63 months. Bravo to the U.S. Marshals.
- Catrina, Manchester

What an embarrassment these folks and their freestater followers were/are. Ron Paul is in tears.
- Bob Wills, Manchester

Congratulations to the Federal law enforcement team that pulled this off without any bloodshed-you've gotten them behind bars where they belong, and nobody's making a martyr out of them.
- Jim B, Manchester, NH

BRAVO!! Good job, marshalls! Well-done! Nobody got hurt, and the job was done. And now they'll really find out what trouble they're in. Felon in possession of a weapon is a far more serious offense than tax evasion!
- Mike R., Bedford

Amazing that someone who made $2 million in a six year period ($333,333 per year) could complain about paying taxes. Give me that problem!!
- Jeff, Manchester

And to think many hammer the media for only reporting bad news. What a delightful story to wake up to. No one hurt and slime removed can it get any better?
- Brian, Concord

Thank God this matter is ended now, with no one injured on either side. Perhaps we have learned the lessons from Waco and Ruby Ridge. May God bless our law enforcement for the jobs they do every day to protect us.
- Marge, Lyndeborough

It's about time these two convicted criminals were taken into custody! These people thought they were better than the rest of us, and didn't have to pay taxes, continued to hoard weapons as convicted felons, and so on. These people scared the heck out of their neighbors and the continuous stream of militia-type whackos coming onto their property made this a dangerous situation for months. Kudos to US Marshal Stephen Monier for putting a peaceful end to this circus.
- Stephen, Manchester

It really is sad that these people are jailed over money. Money really is as evil as they say it is.
- Kate, Manchester

I think I speak for all of us when I say it's about damned time.
- Jason St. Laurent, Auburn, NH

Happy happy joy joy!!!!!!! Yeah!!
- Tina, Manchester

Hurray!!!!! & I hope there have been suitable arrangements made for the dog & any other pets...
- Denise, Manchester

Its about time they did this. Finally they can pay their debt to society.
- Eric, Tilton, NH

[The Observer]

For sale or rent: Strangely furnished home on 103 acres in rural New Hampshire. Concrete construction, wind and solar power. Comes fully armed, with 360 degree field of fire. Previously defended. Immediate occupancy.

You need to add:

"No map provided for location of all booby-traps on property."

[The Observer]

I have some sad and dissapointing news for Old F*ck - no one is going to do a damned thing to help the Browns, because they have exposed themselves as grey pigs

I suppose this is the worst form of piggery as opposed to being a pink pig or a Yorkshire or Hampshire pig.

[webhick]

From E&E's Myspace Page - Blog Comment

Since I know some authority with some initials will read this in hopes of finding more "illegal" people, let me say a few things, in hopes that someone with a conscience might come across it:

1. The Browns are being wrongfully prosecuted and you know it.
2. The Browns are being convicted of a crime for a law that DOES NOT exist. Don't take my word for it if you don't believe, research it for yourself. If you prove me wrong I will deliver myself into a prison cell for you.
3. The Browns are Americans, and no true patriot will ever allow his countrymen to be wrongfully imprisoned, and if they are not released you will incite rebellion, guaranteed.
4. The Browns might have made your life difficult, I will make you regret your decision.
5. The Browns are going to be vindicated.

Posted by Bush MURDERED Americans on October 5, 2007 - Friday at 7:17 AM

Does the part in red constitute a threat, or just smoke up someone's ass?

[Randall]

For sale or rent: Strangely furnished home on 103 acres in rural New Hampshire. Concrete construction, wind and solar power. Comes fully armed, with 360 degree field of fire. Previously defended. Immediate occupancy.

If you're patient you'll probably be able to pick it up cheap at a unpaid property tax sale unless the IRS beats the county to it for unpaid income taxes.

[Demosthenes]

Does the part in red constitute a threat, or just smoke up someone's ass?

Looks threatening to me.

Any and all threats should be posted here. Also, if anyone else follows militia and/or white pride sites, please keep an eye out for anything that appears to be a rallying cry for the Browns.

[Harrison Bergeron]

At 7:45 pm yesterday my dog ate an entire bag of M&Ms, and the Browns got arrested. I had to take my dog to the emergency vet.

She's okay, by the way. Not too happy with me, I guess, but okay. I figure Ed and Elaine feel about the same way my dog does. They and my dog got greedy, and they all had to pay the price. That's life.

I'm just glad this was finally stopped. Too bad they didn't stop it before five more people were charged with crimes, which they would not have committed if not for Ed and Elaine. After those arrests, I figured Ed and Elaine would be arrested before November. After all, they could hardly take the others to trial and expect to win, if Ed and Elaine were still not in custody.

[webhick]

For sale or rent: Strangely furnished home on 103 acres in rural New Hampshire. Concrete construction, wind and solar power. Comes fully armed, with 360 degree field of fire. Previously defended. Immediate occupancy.

If you're patient you'll probably be able to pick it up cheap at a unpaid property tax sale unless the IRS beats the county to it for unpaid income taxes.

Super cheap considering that probably 90% of the "improvements" are unpermitted. Of course, then you'd inherit that problem.

[Imalawman]

Any word from the press conference?

[webhick]

Any word from the press conference?

WMUR is saying that there was a location change on the conference and that because of it they won't be streaming it live but will post it shortly after it happens.

[The Observer]

For sale or rent: Strangely furnished home on 103 acres in rural New Hampshire. Concrete construction, wind and solar power. Comes fully armed, with 360 degree field of fire. Previously defended. Immediate occupancy.

If you're patient you'll probably be able to pick it up cheap at a unpaid property tax sale unless the IRS beats the county to it for unpaid income taxes.

The IRS won't be able to "beat" the county to it for unpaid taxes since county property taxes are a superpriority over federal taxes. The IRS might "beat" the county to the process of actually seizing and putting the property up for sale, but the buyer will still have to pony up the monies for the unpaid property taxes since IRS auctions only sell the equity position of the taxpayer to which the federal tax lien attaches.

[Bud Dickman]

Marshals Pose As Supporters To Arrest Tax Evaders
(WBZ) CONCORD, N.H. U.S. marshals posing as supporters carried out the arrests of convicted tax-evaders Ed and Elaine Brown at their fortress-like home in Plainfield, the head marshal said Friday.

"They invited us in, and we escorted them out," U.S. Marshal Stephen Monier said in the first public disclosure of details of the Thursday night arrest.

A small team of marshals pulled off the ruse, arresting the Browns without incident on the front porch, Monier said.

The arrests ended a months-long standoff that began when Ed Brown, 65, and his dentist wife Elaine, 67, walked out of their federal trial in Concord in January. She returned to the trial, but soon joined her husband at the home, where the couple vowed to resist violently if authorities tried to arrest them.

At a news conference, Monier said officials found booby traps in the woods on the 100-plus-acre property and weapons, ammunition and homemade bombs inside and outside the house.

Monier said the Browns were on their way to federal prison. He said he wouldn't say where they are headed until they arrive.

Monier would not go into any details of the ruse, including exactly what happened or what was said. He did say no shots were fired and no one was hurt.

Ed Brown had warned authorities they wouldn't take him alive: "We either walk out of here free or we die," he said earlier this year.

The Browns, who were turned over to the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, were convicted on federal tax charges in January and refused to turn themselves in to authorities when they were sentenced in April to five years and three months in prison.

They were convicted of scheming to avoid federal income taxes by hiding $1.9 million of income between 1996 and 2003.

The Browns have claimed the federal income tax is not legitimate. Their argument -- repeatedly rejected by courts -- is that no law authorizes the federal income tax and that the 1913 constitutional amendment permitting it was never properly ratified.

Expert observers had praised the authorities' hands-off approach, but patience wore thin for Plainfield's 2,400 residents. During the summer, town selectmen asked Monier to stop the influx of militiamen and other anti-government groups to the Browns' home and to bring the couple to justice.

Last month, authorities arrested four men accused of helping obstruct justice in the Browns' case. Charges ranged from accessory after the fact to possession and use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. Authorities also blocked access to a fundraising event on the Browns' property.

Earlier this year, officials cut power and telephone service in an effort to ratchet up pressure on the couple.

The couple's home, on 103 wooded acres, is on an isolated dirt road and includes a turret that offers a 360-degree view of the property and a driveway that is sometimes barricaded with sport utility vehicles.

Heavily armed police surrounded the home in June while they seized commercial property the couple owned in a neighboring town. SWAT teams, military and explosives vehicles marshaled in the tiny town and sparked rumors of a raid.

The Marshals Service said the gathered forces were only for surveillance.

The arrests "will be a relief to everyone in the community," said state Agriculture Commissioner Stephen Taylor, a Plainfield resident. "This has been such a distraction to everybody."

A message left for Elaine Brown's son, David Hatch-Bernier of Worcester, Mass., was not returned Thursday night.

[The Observer]

Super cheap considering that probably 90% of the "improvements" are unpermitted. Of course, then you'd inherit that problem.

It is a problem that the IRS will have to factor in before setting up the minimum bid for the auction. IRS sales never make any warranty or guarantee about the condition of anything sold. It is truly a "caveat emptor" market when you bid at an IRS auction. It pays to do research on the property (get a title report, talk to the neighbors, local zoning authority, recent contractors who may have worked on the property, etc.) before plunking down your money.

That being said, the real worth of the property will be in the land rather than the building. I'm sure the successful bidder in such a sale will be proffering a bid based on their decision to raze the structures and re-build rather than move in.

[LPC]

New from WMUR:

PLAINFIELD, N.H. -- U.S. marshals posing as supporters carried out the arrests of tax evaders Ed and Elaine Brown, officials said Friday.

The undercover officers were invited in by the Browns on Thursday evening, and before the couple realized they weren't supporters, they were already under arrest.

"Ultimately, this open-door policy that they seemed to have which allowed the Browns to have some supporters bring them supplies, welcome followers and even host a picnic --this proved to be their undoing," U.S. Marshal Stephen Monier said. "They invited us in. We escorted them out."

The Browns have been in a standoff with authorities since their sentencing in April on tax evasion charges. They insisted that there's no law forcing them to pay taxes and refused to surrender -- saying they would not come out alive.

Monier said that the Browns were arrested at about 7:45 p.m. The Browns were the only ones inside the house.

During a security sweep of the house, numerous weapons, ammunition and explosive devices were found, Monier said. There were also "booby traps" found on the property, and Monier said it is an active crime scene.

Since the recent arrests of four Brown supporters, there has been less traffic at the Plainfield compound, U.S. Marshal Stephen Monier said. He said officials considered that when deciding to conduct an arrest operation that a team of experts has been planning for months.

Details of how the Browns were taken into custody have not been released.

A press conference is scheduled for Friday in Concord at 10 a.m.

"We had no indication that the Browns intended to voluntarily surrender, so we had to move forward with an operation that promised the safest possible outcome. That day was today," Monier said in a news release Thursday.

Expert observers had praised the authorities' hands-off approach, but patience wore thin for Plainfield's 2,400 residents. During the summer, town selectmen asked Monier to stop the influx of militiamen and other anti-government groups to the Browns' home and to bring the couple to justice. But some supporters lost favor with the Browns.

Last month, authorities arrested four men accused of helping obstruct justice in the Browns' case. Charges ranged from accessory after the fact to possession and use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. Authorities also blocked access to a fundraising event on the Browns' property.

Monier said in the news release that since those arrests, "there had been a dip in the number of visitors to the house."

The Browns could now face more federal charges following the standoff.

Note: Because of a location change, the news conference will not be streamed live. Look for it in its entirety on WMUR.com shortly after it happens.