Edward and Elaine Brown

Elaine Brown attended dental school at Tufts University in Boston before opening a dental practice in West Lebanon, New Hampshire. Elaine Brown earned most of the couple's income that was involved in the tax dispute through her dental practice. ==Edward Brown==

Edward Brown is retired from the pest control business. Earlier felony convictions and pardon In 1960, Edward Brown was found guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon and armed robbery in connection with an attack on a man in Somerville, Massachusetts. Brown was imprisoned at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute in Concord, Massachusetts, was paroled in January 1965, and was pardoned in July 1976 by then-governor Michael Dukakis, with the recommendation of the Massachusetts Advisory Board of Parole. Edward Brown was the spokesman for an organization called the Constitution Defense Militia and had become involved in the militia movement in late 1993. The newspaper reported that Brown designated various individuals and organizations as being part of a conspiracy to deprive Americans of life and liberty. Among the people and organizations named by Brown were then-U.S. President Bill Clinton, former President George H. W. Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev, The Council on Foreign Relations, the United Nations, the Trilateral Commission, the American Bar Association, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Brown reportedly had stockpiled 18 months' worth of food, with weapons and ammunition, and believed that there would be a Federal government takeover of "private property, utilities, health facilities and the media." The 1994 article reported that Brown believed the militia was setting up its own "courts… for the purpose of taking back America." The newspaper reported that Brown said he saw no way the conflict would end except in violence. The paper stated: "Brown, who says he is an agnostic, admits it's easy to dismiss him as a nut." ==Tax-related indictment, trial and convictions==

In April 2006, Edward and Elaine Brown were indicted in the United States District Court in New Hampshire for numerous federal tax violations. Prosecutors in the Browns' case presented evidence that the Browns had not paid income tax since 1996 and had not filed income tax returns since 1998; they were liable for taxes of more than $625,000. On January 18, 2007, Edward Brown was found guilty by a jury in a Federal District Court in Concord, New Hampshire of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States under , one count of conspiracy to structure financial transactions to evade the Treasury reporting requirements in violation of , and , and one count of structuring financial transactions to evade the Treasury reporting requirements and aiding and abetting under and . Elaine Brown was convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States under , five counts of tax evasion and aiding and abetting under and , eight counts of willful failure to collect employment taxes under and aiding and abetting under , one count of conspiracy to structure financial transactions to evade the Treasury reporting requirements in violation of , and , and two counts of structuring financial transactions to evade the Treasury reporting requirements and aiding and abetting under and . The tax evasion convictions of Elaine Brown involved the failure to report income of $1,310,706 over a period of five years. Each was sentenced to over five years in prison. Before granting Elaine Brown's release on bail, the judge of the Browns' trial ordered her not to return to the Browns' home before sentencing. As a condition of her bail agreement with the state, she was ordered to live at her son's home in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she had been living prior to the trial. ==Browns' residence==

Edward Brown said that he had a stock of food and supplies and that his home could run on wind and solar generators even if cut off from the main grid. During the standoff, a number of supporters were camped outside his home and were encouraged to record any attempt to take Brown from his house. This policy of opening the door to supporters led to the successful arrest of the couple by United States Deputy Marshals who disguised themselves as supporters. The 100 acre property at 401 Center of Town Road, Plainfield, New Hampshire was scheduled to be auctioned off in Concord, New Hampshire, on August 15, 2014, by U.S. Marshals, although no one bid at the auction. The Browns implied in interviews that the woods around the house had explosive "booby-traps." Federal officials therefore would not let interested bidders tour the property. In October 2015, however, would-be buyers were allowed to visit the property with an Internal Revenue Service official, and the property sold for $205,000 at auction on October 22, 2015. ==Beliefs about religion, Zionism, Judaism, Freemasonry and taxes==

The Concord Monitor wrote: "The Browns changed their names in late March [2007] after converting to a non-denominational form of Christianity they learned from a man named Sonny. According to friends of the Browns, Sonny, who wears a long beard, all-white attire and sandals, flew from Hawaii to New Hampshire to visit the Browns and shared his religious and legal teachings over several days." Elaine Brown was quoted as saying: "The only law book we now recognize is the Bible. The only way we're coming out of our home is either as free man and free woman or in body bags." According to a New Hampshire newspaper, the Browns had not paid some state taxes, and "face a state tax lien for business profit taxes" of $343,000. The paper reported that with penalties and accumulated interest, the combined federal and state tax amount owed by Edward and Elaine Brown was over three million dollars. In mid-July 2007, Edward Brown also announced that he would stop paying school and town property taxes to the town of Plainfield, New Hampshire. A local newspaper quoted Brown as saying: "They don't provide me any services, I'm not going to contribute to them anymore." Edward Brown was also quoted as having made comments about law enforcement officials and the judge in his case: I wouldn't want to be this U.S. attorney. I wouldn't want to be this judge or these other people. This James John or anybody else that decides to come down here. Their names are already out there… They are just as vulnerable as I am. And if they're so foolish and stupid to think that they're not, hey, doom on them. Edward Brown was reported to have stated in a radio interview in March 2007, in comments about federal authorities who were unwilling to see Brown's righteousness: Once you've used the lawful word, you've done it the absolute proper way, and they still come at you, they are now attacking the Creator himself or itself,… You kill them. That is exactly what the Ten Commandments tell you to do. Referring to the warrants and court orders against him, Brown said "This is just paper… This is fiction. The entire American government is fiction. We created it, didn't we?" On August 10, 2007, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported that Edward Brown said that a war was spreading and becoming an uprising against the federal government, eventually to develop into a revolution, and that the war would come within eighteen months. The Union Leader quoted Brown: According to the New Hampshire Union Leader: ==Chronology of post-trial events; the standoff==

February 2007 • On February 1, Ed Brown publishes an open letter restating his arguments against the government and pleading with supporters to come to his home to aid in his defense against the government. • On February 13, prosecutors ask a court to seize the Browns' property. • On February 20, Elaine Brown returns to her home in order to be with her husband. March 2007 • On March 2, a federal judge signs an order for the Browns to pay $216,000 to the government or else face the seizure of their property, including their home. The order is to become final at their sentencing in April. April 2007 • On April 24, U.S. District Judge Steven McAuliffe sentences Ed and Elaine Brown to five years and three months in prison each for concealing earnings and failing to pay federal income tax on nearly $2 million of income. Neither of the Browns appeared in court for the sentencing. • On April 26, Judge McAuliffe issues an order that the notices of appeal filed by the Browns on January 28 should be treated as having been filed on April 24 (the Browns' sentencing date) and that their initially premature notices of appeal would be treated as having been timely filed. The judge also orders that within thirty days, the Browns should either file the appellate fee ($455 each) or file a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis. May 2007 • On May 18, Ed and Elaine Brown stated that they did not intend to appeal their convictions on federal tax evasion charges. They said they have abandoned "man's law" and now follow only the rules and laws put forth in the Bible. June 2007 • On June 7, police, SWAT teams, and armored vehicles are seen gathering in a field near the Browns' home. United States Marshal Stephen Monier confirms that one Brown supporter was detained near the Browns' property. Several sources later identify the Browns' supporter as a man named Danny Riley, and state that he was detained while walking the Browns' dog, Zoe. Monier's office later releases a press statement indicating that the government agents were not raiding the Browns' home, but were in the area to serve a warrant for the seizure of Elaine Brown's dental office in West Lebanon, New Hampshire. (Subsequent testimony at trial revealed that this operation was in fact an arrest attempt.) In the evening of June 7, Riley records a video describing his encounter with and detainment by federal agents earlier that day. July 2007 • On July 14, the Browns hosted a small concert at their Plainfield property. The concert was organized by the We The People Radio Network to "save the Browns", and drew an estimated crowd of 200 people. Dave Cahill, Poker Face, and others performed. • On July 17, a Chevrolet Blazer sport utility vehicle (SUV) owned by Elaine Brown is seized by the United States marshal after the SUV is involved in a traffic accident in which a 17-year-old girl was injured and her Chrysler Concorde sedan totaled. The driver of the SUV was identified as Jason Gerhard of Brookhaven, New York. According to the girl's mother, Judy Dunham, Gerhard did not immediately stop and, after returning to the scene of the accident, refused to provide his personal information to the 17-year-old girl. During his daily internet radio broadcast, Ed Brown confirmed that "a friend" had been using Elaine Brown's vehicle to go buy food. U.S. Marshal Stephen Monier confirmed that the vehicle had been impounded and that he was investigating the circumstances of the incident. • On July 28, reports of "30–40" shots fired at the Browns' property were posted on a website. A local media report contradicts this, stating that there was no law enforcement activity at the property, and that "[p]eople who live in that area also report no activity." August 2007 • On August 22, the Concord Monitor reports that Ed and Elaine Brown have "succeeded in first recruiting and then driving out an ever-changing cast of supporters from across the country." September 2007 • On September 12, four men are arrested by the United States Marshals Service for allegedly helping to obstruct justice in connection with the Browns' standoff. Charges against the four include accessory after the fact and possession and use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. October 4, 2007 arrest: The standoff ends On October 4, 2007, Ed and Elaine Brown were arrested without incident, ending the standoff. United States Marshal Stephen Monier stated: "The Browns may now begin serving their 63-month federal prison terms… High profile situations like this are always difficult, but they don't have to be tragic. I'm glad no one was injured, and that the community remained safe throughout the operation." A local television station quoted U.S. Marshal Monier as saying: "Ultimately, this open-door policy that they [the Browns] 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… They invited us in. We escorted them out." At a news conference on October 5, 2007, U.S. Marshal Monier said that even more charges against the imprisoned Edward and Elaine Brown were likely: "By their continuing actions, allegedly, to obstruct justice, to encourage others to assist them to obstruct justice, by making threats toward law enforcement and other governmental officials, they have turned this into more than a tax case." ==Prison life==

Shortly after his imprisonment, Edward Brown claimed that he has been mistreated, tasered, gassed, subjected to sensory deprivation, and isolated from other inmates. ==Trials and guilty verdicts in connection with the standoff==

Both Edward and Elaine Brown and some of their followers were subsequently charged, tried, and found guilty of crimes in connection with the standoff. Convictions of followers Four individuals who assisted Ed and Elaine Brown in the standoff were convicted in connection with the matter. Danny Riley of Cohoes, New York was sentenced to 36 years in federal prison, after having been convicted of helping to supply the Browns, and of stockpiling weapons and threatening law enforcement officials. Riley was convicted of conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and using guns and bombs in connection with the standoff. Also convicted in other trials were Jason Gerhard of Brookhaven, New York (sentenced to twenty years in prison), Cirino Gonzalez of Alice, Texas (sentenced to eight years in prison), and Robert Wolffe of Randolph, Vermont (who was sentenced to two and a half years). The Browns filed numerous pre-trial motions, contending (among other things) that the United States is owned by Paine Webber and that "the most powerful court in America is not the United States Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania." According to the Concord Monitor, the Browns filed "about 30 motions, expressing views that their case is governed by commercial law, that they are not the people named in the indictment, that the federal government has no authority and that they can resolve all charges with 'promissory notes' for billions of dollars." Elaine Brown's court-appointed lawyer requested that her competency be evaluated. On October 2, 2009, Elaine Brown was sentenced to 35 years in a federal prison. Elaine Brown filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court denied her petition on May 21, 2012. Edward Brown is scheduled for release on June 9, 2034, when he would be about 92 years old. Elaine Brown was originally scheduled for release in November 2042. However, her sentence was shorted to time served as a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in another case which found the minimum sentencing in weapons laws, in this case a 30-year minimum for use of explosives, was invalid. She was released on February 28, 2020, and has sought divorce. Ed Brown requested a reduction to time served at appeal, but the use of explosives count was reduced to 300 months, so he would have roughly 17 additional years over his 13 served.{{citation |title= Tax protester Ed Brown to remain in prison for role in 2007 armed standoff ==See also==