NH Tax Protester Goes Gentle into that Good Night
Ed Brown had warned authorities the authorities 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.
"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.
Brown had been convicted of not paying federal income tax, which he claims is not legal or legitimate (or something).
Brian Doherty spent time among the "we have no legal obligation to pay income tax" crowd in this memorable 2004 feature.
