http://tinyurl.com/2erzvg
April 25. 2007 8:00AM
A federal judge sentenced tax protesters Ed and Elaine Brown to more
than five years in prison yesterday, giving them sentences at the top of
the range recommended by probation officers but below sentencing
recommendations offered by the prosecutor.
The couple did not attend the hearing, and Ed Brown refused to recognize
the sentence or the federal court that issued it.
"I've been convicted of crimes?" he asked in a phone interview yesterday.
The couple have been holed up in their fortified Plainfield home for
several months, saying that any attempts to arrest them will trigger a
violent confrontation with federal officials.
The Browns were convicted in January of conspiring to defraud the
government, conspiring to disguise large financial transactions and
disguising large financial transactions. Elaine Brown, whose West
Lebanon dental practice earned the couple's income, was also convicted
of multiple counts of tax evasion and failure to withhold employment
taxes. The government calculated the couple's unpaid tax bill at roughly
$750,000.
The Browns, who maintain that federal income tax laws don't apply to
them, argued during their trial that the laws were invalid. Midway
through the trial, the Browns stopped attending the proceedings. Ed
Brown issued internet and radio statements that the situation might turn
into "another Waco" and urged armed supporter to help him resist
capture. In 1993, a standoff between the Branch Davidian religious sect
and federal officers near Waco, Texas, resulted in 80 deaths, including
those of four law enforcement agents.
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