80. The Standoff (Ed & Elaine Brown)
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This episode of Swindled may contain graphic descriptions or audio recordings of disturbing events which may not be suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. They call themselves the "Freemen". They don't obey laws, but tonight they're surrounded by officers of the law. Hundreds of federal peace officers and police are laying siege to a heavily armed compound in Montana.

March 25th, 1996 marked the first day of an armed standoff between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Montana Freeman, a right-wing anti-government militia group that had barricaded themselves inside a farmhouse in the small eastern Montana town of Jordan. About 20 group members remained on the property, including women and children, refusing to negotiate. The standoff was the culmination of a years-long battle between the Freeman and any and all authority.

Considering recent events, confrontation seemed inevitable. Here's how it started. An agricultural financial crisis had wreaked havoc on the area. The 1970s inflation and embargoes led to high interest rates and plummeting property values in the 1980s. Farmers and ranchers who had borrowed money from the federal government's agricultural loan program found themselves underwater.

When the moratorium on foreclosures was lifted in 1991, many of Montana's farms began to fold. Panic was setting in, but then a savior appeared. I start out by telling you that I'm a Supreme Court Justice in the Justice Township. I'm also a Supreme Court Marshal. I don't have my badge on today. I usually don't wear it unless I got one of those shirts with the sliding deal. I'm a Elezore.

I'm Justice Township, I'm conservator of the peace, I'm a justice of peace, I'm a justice of the peace. We are the titles of nobility in America. We're the kings. This is the church. This is the court. We do not have separation of church and state. We are the church and we are the state.

That's Leroy M. Schweitzer, a 56-year-old former crop duster and tax delinquent. Leroy owed almost $400,000 to the IRS dating back to 1973. He had no intention to pay, at least not in the traditional sense. Leroy Schweitzer had a different idea for getting out of debt, which he shared in seminar form to desperate students recruited via newsletters and gun shows.

Schweitzer believed that white, Christian men inherited a special freeman citizenship status that exempted them from all government taxation, regulation, and prosecution. No courts, no law enforcement, no quote, Zionist occupational government could tell the superior white man what to do. If we, the white race, are God's chosen people, Schweitzer posed, why are we paying taxes on his land?

Leroy Schweitzer's racist views echoed those found in the Christian identity theology, which derived from British Israelism, and asserts that the white man is the true direct descendant of Adam and Eve, a Middle Eastern couple. It defies logic. Nevertheless, Leroy Schweitzer would press on about his two-seed theory. Jews and people of color are descendants of Satan, he proclaimed. In fact, Schweitzer added, Jews descended from a sexual union between Satan and Eve,

Who knew? Cuckolding. The original sin. The excessive integration of other racial elements into the land. And that's what's going on in America today. If you are a black, or a Hispanic, or a Mexican, or a Portuguese, or whatever you want, you can get into America without any trouble at all. But try and get in here if you're white, and they won't let you in.

And now, Leroy Schweitzer announced since the Jews had taken over the United States government, the United States government had become illegitimate.

The only law the Freeman recognized was common law, the Bible, and the Magna Carta, and certain parts of the US and Montana constitutions that they agreed with. The Bible is the only true law. Men make rules. God made the law. As Freeman, as sovereign citizens, all the instruments of Satan's laws would no longer apply.

Freeman did not believe in having license plates on their automobiles. They didn't believe in zip codes, traffic tickets, driver's licenses, marriage licenses, insurance, or building inspections or permits. Nor did they believe in paying taxes to the federal government, which Schweitzer referred to as a corporate prostitute. And they damn sure didn't trust the central banking system.

"We are the new Federal Reserve," Leroy Schweitzer told his students. "We are competing with the Federal Reserve, and we have every authority to do it. Just the men, though. Sorry, honey. I think there's some laundry that needs folding in the other room." "When you appoint your officers, leave it to men. I'm not trying to belittle women.

Since the Freemen had, in their minds, established their own government, they figured they were entitled to print their own currency from their home computers.

The currency was in the form of bogus but authentic-looking certified money orders called true bills. And the assets backing the checks were bogus liens for hundreds of millions of dollars that they had filed against public officials, private citizens, and journalists. Pretty much anyone that the Freedmen viewed as enemies. The scheme was absurd but effective.

The liens had no value, but there was a delay before the banking system could realize that. The freemen would successfully generate real cash from unsuspecting financial institutions and merchants in that short processing window. Mortgage companies mistakenly accepted true bills as payments. Student loan institutions, L.L. Bean, even the IRS had been paid with them.

Ironically, one organization that wouldn't accept the true bills was the Montana Freeman. They asked their students to pay the seminar fees in U.S. currency only, please. But it was worth it. For $300 between racist, religious tirades, Leroy Schweitzer and his fellow Freeman offered students a path to relief. Just print your own money, they advised.

The freemen were the judge and the jury and the executioners. And most importantly, they were white. God's chosen people. Above the law. Forever and always. So they thought.

From late 1993 through 1994, the Montana freemen, believing their own bullshit, created their own common law courts in Garfield County, Montana, appointed themselves as justices, and flooded the county with stacks of nonsensical financial claims and arrest warrants against local officials, including the town sheriff, who the freemen had threatened to hang from a bridge.

In October 1994, one of the Montana freemen was arrested for those threats. William Stanton, an elderly rancher who lost property at a foreclosure, was convicted on the rare charge of syndicalism, which is the advocacy of crime, violence, or terrorism to achieve political ends. Stanton had issued a $1 million bounty for the local sheriff, the county attorney, and the judge. Leroy Schweitzer had offered William Stanton a $3.8 million loan to cover his foreclosure debt.

When Stanton attempted to deposit that $3.8 million in true bills into his Wells Fargo account, he was denied. His property was lost. And instead of blaming Schweitzer, William Stanton doubled down on hating the government, who ultimately sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

William Stanton wasn't the only one in trouble. An Arizona man and graduate of a Montana Freeman workshop tried to use $250,000 in true bills to bail out a fellow militiaman who had been charged with molesting a child. Also in the spring of 1995, Tom Klock, the mayor of Cascade, Montana, who had declared the town a Freeman state, was arrested for depositing $20 million of fake money orders into the town's bank account.

It would have been nice if the town of Cascade got the interest off $20 million, Clark said, always promoting the public good. By March 1995, most of the prominent members of the Montana Freemen had warrants out for their arrest, including Leroy Schweitzer, Daniel Peterson, and Rodney Skirtle, whose foreclosed ranch near Roundup, Montana, served as the group's hideout for most of the year. The FBI watched their every move.

Tensions escalated later that year, on September 28, 1995, when the Freemans decided to relocate. Their operation moved about 120 miles northeast to Freeman Ralph Clark's recently foreclosed ranch near Jordan. The new headquarters sat on 940 treeless acres. It would be much easier to defend, if necessary. The Freemen named the settlement Justice Township.

There, they continued printing fake checks, holding workshops, and overwhelming the local courts with their paper terrorism. Law enforcement was criticized for letting the Freedmen make the move, but Waco, Ruby Ridge, and the Oklahoma City bombing were fresh on everyone's minds. The authorities decided to take a wait-and-see approach to avoid bloodshed. Law enforcement and media members poured into the small town of Jordan, population of 450.

In October, an ABC News crew got a little too close to Justice Township and had $66,000 worth of camera equipment forcefully taken by armed freemen. In February 1996, an Associated Press reporter and photographer were stopped and searched on a county road by the freemen. They were briefly detained, a little beaten up, but ultimately released.

A month later, a lawyer named Matthew Sissler visited Justice Township to serve Leroy Schweitzer with legal documents after Schweitzer attempted to purchase $1.4 million in military-style arms with bogus funds. Those weapons were never delivered, but the arms dealer was still out of pocket, so he decided to sue. According to the Chicago Tribune, Sissler, the lawyer, successfully served Leroy Schweitzer the papers and in turn was handed a $1 billion lien on his property.

There were guns everywhere, but Sissler was not intimidated. "What we saw was a bunch of sad, middle-aged men who had lost their homes, who had not paid loans back or taxes and wanted someone to blame." Two weeks later, the standoff officially began. Leroy Schweitzer and Daniel Peterson were asked to inspect a ham radio antenna that was being installed a few hundred yards from the main compound.

When they arrived, they learned that the installation crew that had been living with the Freeman for months were actually undercover FBI agents. Schweitzer, Peterson, and a third man were arrested.

A convoy of law enforcement officers haul fugitive Freeman to jail cells in Billings. In custody are 56-year-old Leroy Schweitzer. He's regarded by some people as the leader of the Freeman. With the Freeman leadership in custody, Rodney Skirtle became the de facto leader of those that remained at Justice Township. There were no plans to surrender.

even after federal indictments were unsealed that charged many of the Freedmen with conspiracy, mail fraud, bank fraud, armed robbery, and threats against federal officials. The Freedmen showed their displeasure with the outside world today by hoisting an American flag upside down outside their ranch house. During March and April 1996, a handful of Freedmen defected from the compound and turned themselves in. The others weren't budging.

However, they did agree to negotiate, finally. Negotiations are finally taking place. After the negotiators went onto the ranch, they set up a table and some chairs on a dirt road. Four freemen came out of the ranch, exchanged handshakes with the negotiators, and sat down to talk for about an hour. In a series of meetings, a group of freemen met with over 40 state representatives, law enforcement officials, and other right-wing militia leaders.

Sometimes the freemen would arrive at the table, accompanied by two little girls from the compound. It was a warning of the potential collateral damage if the situation turned violent. The negotiations went nowhere. Beau Gritz, a former Green Beret colonel and leader of a different anti-government constitutional community, who sat at that negotiating table, criticized the freemen's cowardice. "They are not free to come out on their own. The tough guys are hiding behind the skirts of the little girls."

On day 41 of the standoff, the Freedmen sent a defiant note to the FBI that said that the FBI does not exist as a government agency and they announced that they were not afraid of violence because "God has placed an invisible barrier around their sanctuary that no more enemies can penetrate." Many of the recruited negotiators grew frustrated and left while federal agents moved in closer.

As the standoff continued into its third month, the locals in Jordan, Montana were growing weary. The local motel was overflowing. The only bar in town was always full. There were federal agents jogging down Main Street in the mornings.

someone make it stop. People are just flat tired of these guys and they don't want any more militia to come here. They want the locals that are in that thing to come out and without bloodshed. Well, it's caused a lot of stir around this area. I know that. I'm from Glendive, Montana and that's all you hear about is Freemans this, Freemans that and

I know we don't need it, you know. Naturally, the Freedmen also had their fair share of supporters around the country too. This demonstration of federal force laying siege to this farmhouse with 18 alleged check writers is a bit of overkill. These people in Montana have given the finger to the federal government and the federal government can't have that. So they must suppress them and tyrannize them and destroy them.

Naturally, these men were on a mission from God against a tyrannical government. Nothing could stand in their way of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But then, the feds shut off the electricity to the Freeman compound.

What were these rugged patriots to do? A week later, on June 13th, 1996, they surrendered. It's apparently all over but the shouting and the trip to jail. Nearly three months after it began, the standoff between the anti-government freemen and federal agents is in its last hours.

The New York Times reported, quote,

After 81 days of resistance, the members of the right-wing group simply climbed into government vans that were taking them to Billings, Montana to face the very legal system they rejected when they declared that the United States law did not apply on their land. I am pleased to announce to you that while we were here at dinner, the long standoff with the Freeman in Montana ended peacefully tonight.

I want to thank the FBI and the local law enforcement officials and say I'm very, very proud of them. I know I speak for all of our people when we say we'll all say a little prayer tonight of gratitude for this peaceful resolution of a difficult situation. In the subsequent trials, 12 Montana freemen faced nearly 500 charges. Said trials were predictably shit shows.

God's petulant children shouted threats at the judge, knocked over furniture, embarked on multiple hunger strikes, and refused to cooperate with their own legal counsel. Several of the freemen were brought to court in wheelchairs because they refused to walk. Prosecutors said that the freemen wrote 3,432 of those phony checks, with a total face value of $18 billion, using a bank account that never contained more than $116.

And even though less than 1% of those checks were honored, the Freeman managed to cash $1.8 million worth. Ultimately, a jury found those Montana Freeman who chose to stand trial guilty. Their sentences ranged from 5 years to 18 years in prison, except for Leroy Schweitzer, who received the longest term of 22 and a half years on 25 counts. Even behind bars, the Freeman drama continued.

A sovereign citizen in North Carolina was arrested in 1999 for paying his back taxes with the Montana Freeman True Bills. That same year, an Arizona couple was arrested for filing false liens against local officials. Then in 2003, two men posing as Montana Marshals were arrested for trying to break Leroy Schweitzer out of prison. And in 2010, Freeman Daniel Peterson received an additional seven and a half year sentence for filing bogus liens against a federal judge from his prison cell.

The leader of the group, Larry Schweitzer, was convicted on multiple federal charges and died in prison in 2011 at the age of 73. Seven others were also convicted and sentenced, with the last of the imprisoned freemen, Russell Landers, who you saw in that video, passing away just last week. In May 2021, the Billings Gazette caught up with Daniel Peterson, who was released after spending nearly 25 years in a federal penitentiary. "I make no apologies," he told the newspaper.

Peterson wore a white hat on his head. The red. Number three Montana Freeman. Where we failed, Trump will succeed. Naturally. Well, at least the federal government learned its lesson. I think it was a critical factor. I think the strategy of applying patience and resoluteness in terms of ensuring that the law would be enforced, but that we would do so incrementally and patiently, always going back to the negotiating strategy, was really the formula that worked here.

That formula would be put to the test again less than a decade later. A New Hampshire couple barricades themselves in their house after being convicted of tax evasion. A standoff ensues on this episode of Swindled.

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I was born in Boston. At the age of five I was put on foster care through Division of Child Protective Services and Welfare in Massachusetts and raised in foster care of the state until I was 16. I went to the military, got into trouble while I was in there, got taken out, and then I

Edward Louis Brown was given a second lease on life. In 1960, when he was 18 years old and enlisted in the United States military, Brown was convicted of assaulting and robbing a man with a deadly weapon in Somerville.

He spent five years in a state prison before being paroled. In 1976, Ed Brown was pardoned by Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. With a clean record, Ed was able to keep a job and stay out of trouble for most of his adult life. Ed Brown was working as an exterminator in the mid-80s when he met his wife.

Elaine Brown was doing well for herself at the time. She was a divorced dentist with a son and a daughter in an office in Burlington, and she owned an apartment building for which Ed Brown managed the pest control. You met all the cockroaches. Ed was an exterminator, and I owned some apartment buildings, and I needed an exterminator, and I called Ed, and that's how we met. By 1990, Ed and Elaine had married and moved to Plainfield, New Hampshire.

They purchased a 7,500 square foot home on 103 acres in the mountains. And they also bought a commercial building in nearby West Lebanon where Elaine opened a new dental office. Elaine Brown was making a decent living, so Ed Brown retired. And with his newfound free time, he began to immerse himself in politics and conspiracy theories.

Ed became heavily involved with various right-wing militia groups, the Constitution Defense Militia, the Un-American Activities Investigations Commission, which he had founded, and the United States Constitution Rangers. All of the organizations promoted similar beliefs with plenty of racial undertones. The U.S. Constitution was the supreme law of the land. Small government was the original intent, and any encroachment by the federal government was unacceptable. Taxation is theft.

Zionist Illuminati Freemasons run the world and gold and silver were the only lawful currencies. So from the Waco incident after that came about, I started to investigate all aspects of

In 1994, when the Montana Freemen were terrorizing their state, Ed Brown's paranoia was on full display in an interview with the New Hampshire Sunday News.

He warned that a second Revolutionary War was approaching. He was convinced that the CIA was orchestrating other WACOs around the world. Ed also claimed that the Major League Baseball strike of 1994 was part of a plot to squash anything American. He predicted blood in the streets. Militias like the Freeman were already setting up constitutional courts for the purpose of "taking back America," Ed announced. "Freedom is not free," he said, quoting Thomas Jefferson.

Brown told the newspaper that he saw no way the conflict would end except in violence because, quote, These revolutionary thoughts consumed Ed Brown's life. He no longer fished or played golf like he used to.

Instead, Ed spent all of his time thumbing through the pages of Civil War porn with his itchy trigger finger. Ed Brown was ready, all right. He had a stockpile of food in his basement that would last 18 months, along with an armory of weapons and ammunition. Ed believed something big was about to happen any day now. Maybe a federal takeover of private property. Probably an economic collapse, he presumed.

"Please, God, let something happen," he probably begged to himself. "I'm so bored. Life is too easy. I want to kill my neighbor." Elaine Brown was along for the ride. She shared many of her husband's beliefs. Elaine even started carrying a gun in her purse. You never know when the New World Order would begin rounding up the patriots, do you? Why not be prepared?

Everybody knows that the best defense is a good offense, so the Browns struck first. They were fed up with living under such a totalitarian regime. Civil disobedience was the only answer. By now, Ed had become a self-described expert on the United States Constitution, and one day it dawned on him how to hit them where it hurt. Ed had discovered that the Constitution contains no language requiring him or anyone else to pay taxes to the federal government.

The Browns demanded an explanation. In 1994, we started writing to the IRS, asking them to please show us the law requiring Americans to pay a tax on the food they're laden. We submitted to them Supreme Court cases and similar evidence stating why we doubted there was such a law. We had been searching for it ourselves and could not find it.

Ed and Elaine Brown were convinced that, based on their research, ordinary labor, such as the work Elaine performed at her dental practice, could not be taxed. The couple claimed that the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, which authorized the federal government to collect income tax, had not been properly ratified. Thus, the American people were off the hook. You cannot tax my labor.

They are under the assumption that they can tax anything from any means that's available. Similar arguments had been made by tax protesters in the past, and time and time again the courts rejected those arguments. The 16th Amendment was ratified in 1913, despite whatever the conspiratorial website said. Washington's power to tax its citizens has been repeatedly upheld. Ed and Elaine Brown disagreed.

and beginning tax season 1996 they stopped paying i wanted to bring this to the attention of the the general public so we the only way we could do that was through civil disobedience and say hey okay let's stop paying taxes for a while and get everyone's attention it's time everyone took a look

If we all stop paying it, then what are they going to do? Instead of checks, the Browns would include copies of their research with their filings. But by 1998, they stopped filing federal tax returns altogether. As the years passed, the IRS tried unsuccessfully to collect from the couple. Finally, after a decade of non-payment, Edward and Elaine Brown were indicted in a United States District Court.

Prosecutors alleged that the Browns were liable for more than $625,000 in federal income taxes. The state of New Hampshire alleged that the couple owed them more than $343,000. And after 10 years of penalties and interest, the total amount Ed and Elaine Brown owed in back taxes amounted to more than $3 million.

The couple was also accused of hiding or structuring their income to avoid taxes. Every month the couple would purchase four separate $700 postal money orders to pay their bills. The $700 amount was vital because it was well below the $3,000 threshold for federal reporting.

The Browns knew that the government could not tax them if the government didn't know how much income they earned. My husband and I were charged with violating 7201 and 7202 of the Title 26, the income tax code. Those are both nothing more than penalty clauses.

They do not impose any kind of legal duty on anyone. All they basically say is, if you're supposed to do this and you don't do it, this is what's going to happen. We're also charged with structuring. Structuring was put into law to track money laundering. There's no money laundering here. The Browns' tax trial began on January 9, 2007. The couple chose to represent themselves, of course. But then, about halfway through, Ed Brown stopped showing up.

He told the media that he stayed home to protest the system that had already convicted him. "Most Americans would cower and cringe and raise their hands and surrender like a good little slave. I won't, under no circumstances. I do not tolerate cowardliness, oppression, bulliness, and I certainly don't tolerate a federal agency that has absolutely zero jurisdiction in my state, never mind in my county, in my town.

A warrant was issued for Ed Brown's arrest. Ed warned authorities that any attempt to capture him may result in a violent confrontation. "Live free or die," Ed told reporters, quoting New Hampshire's state motto, "What else can I say?" Meanwhile, Elaine Brown attended the duration of the trial. She even accepted help from a court-appointed lawyer, but it was of no use. On January 18, 2007,

Edward Brown was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of conspiracy to structure financial transactions to evade the Treasury reporting requirements, and one count of structuring and aiding and abetting

Elaine Brown was also convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, as well as five counts of tax evasion and aiding and abetting, eight counts of willful failure to collect employment taxes, one count of conspiracy to structure, and one count of structuring. Combined, the couple was convicted of 17 felony counts. Elaine Brown was released on bail until the couple's sentencing hearing on April 24th.

The judge ordered Elaine not to return home where her husband was hiding out. Elaine agreed, telling the judge, "It's not my mindset or my character. I have no intention of returning as long as he's there." Elaine Brown said she would be living with her son in Worcester, Massachusetts instead. The government attached a tracking device to her ankle to insure it. Ed Brown remained at the couple's home in Plainfield, joined by other family, supporters, and friends.

He told reporters that his property was self-contained with wind and solar generators, food, water, and internet access. He could stay there indefinitely if need be. Ed repeated that he had no intention of turning himself in. "We do this for our nation," he said. "I'm a man of honor. I can never lie, cheat, or steal, ever." On February 1, 2007, Ed Brown published an open letter online which contained a plea for help.

Something very important is going on here, he wrote. Sure, it starts with my tax case, but let's look at the big picture here. I'm providing a place for us to make a difference, for the people, for this country. I even offered to pay the taxes just so they would leave me alone, but no. They took my guns before ever being convicted of anything. They took my wife and court ordered her away from me. They now want much more money than they say I owe.

They want the house and will again offensively attack me and take my life, as well as those around me here now, unless we have enough people to make a difference. The next day, Ed Brown appeared on the Constitution for the Defense program on Truth Radio. These people, talking about the federal authorities, need to be strung up, he said. They are so criminal. A lot of people would love the opportunity to rip out their hearts and shove them back down their throats.

Ed Brown offered more threats in video blogs and interviews. "These people are the most incarnate people you're ever going to meet, if they are even people. You killed them. That is exactly what the Ten Commandments tells you to do. That's exactly what all of God's laws plus the Bill of Rights tells you to do." Despite the threats, the US Marshals, who were charged with arresting Ed Brown, had no plans to raid the home. But that could change in a hurry. Time would tell.

On February 13th, 2007, prosecutors asked the court to seize the Browns' commercial property in West Lebanon and their home in Plainfield. A week later, Elaine Brown defied court orders, destroyed her ankle monitor, and returned home to Ed and a cabal of supporters. A warrant was issued for her arrest. I could not be without my husband anymore. It's just not right that a husband and wife should be separated like this.

I was getting a terrible state, emotional state, having anxiety attacks that were just incredible, which I never had in my life. I went to the doctor about it even. And I just decided, Monday night, I lay awake until 5 o'clock and I said, "This is foolish. I can't be away from my husband any longer."

Tuesday morning, I made arrangements for transportation, packed up, and came home. Like Ed, Elaine Brown stood resolute against what she referred to as tyranny. She had no plans to report to prison. Elaine would fight side by side with her husband, even if it was the last thing she would do. It's possible that Ed and I will die here because we will not willingly go.

Or if he gets thrown out, happy days. We're about living, we're not about dying. If we prevail, then the country prevails because we will have exposed the fraud. If we don't, the country loses.

In early April 2007, the Concord Monitor reported that in documents addressed to the "Sham Court", Edward and Elaine Brown ordered the court clerk to close their case, citing themselves as "the court" and "judge". The Browns reportedly signed their filings using their new names: Edward, a living soul in the body of the Lord of the House of Israel, and Elaine, a living soul in the body of the Lord of the House of Israel.

The couple had recently converted to a non-denominational form of Christianity. The court did not care and rejected the filings, ruling them, quote, So, the Browns remained scheduled for sentencing later that month. Not that they had any plans to attend. Ed Brown would not allow it.

I speak for her. You speak to the head. You don't speak to the woman, he told reporters. That's the way it was until the last decade or so, he said. When that day arrived, the Browns stayed true to the word. U.S. District Judge Stephen McAuliffe sentenced both Ed and Elaine to five years and three months in prison in absentia. But if the feds wanted Ed and Elaine Brown locked up, they would have to go to their house and drag them out. If we give in...

to what they say, basically we would be helping them to destroy us. Helping them to pursue us on a non-crime issue. If they want to destroy us, if they want to steal our property, if they want to kill us, if they want to incarcerate us, they will have to do it without our help. They will do it on their own. Support for Swindled comes from SimpliSafe.

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This is sedition. This is sedition. And we are at war. That is a hanging defense of what the judge did, what the president is doing, and many other people in the police office as well, too, by aiding and abetting enemies, both foreign and domestic, which is exactly what they're doing to overthrow this nation. And you can believe it's not happening, but all you've got to do is look around you and see over the last 20 years what's happened. Actually, since the 60s, it's been...

The Browns home in Plainfield, New Hampshire seemed like it was tailor-made for a standoff. A set atop a hill surrounded by dense forest, the property was completely self-sufficient and accessible by a single road. There was only one way in and one way out. The Browns could see you coming from a mile away.

because the home also featured a small turret on the roof that offered a 360 degree field of vision, an ideal watchtower that offered scenic views through a scope. If danger was present, residents and guests could always retreat to the network of tunnels that reportedly ran underneath the homestead. And there was a bunker in the basement, surrounded by 8 inch thick concrete walls. Proceed at your own risk.

Ed and Elaine Brown were sentenced to prison three months ago and have since been holed up in their Plainfield home. The U.S. Marshal has said repeatedly he has no intention of creating an armed standoff with the Browns.

Supporters of the Browns traveled to Plainfield from all over the country to help out where they could. There was an open-door policy. Some wore fatigues and manned the battle stations while others helped a couple update their MySpace page or produced radio and video interviews to spread their message of freedom. We have a superior attitude, superior minds, superior capabilities, bottom line.

And we'll outlast them because we're fighting for our very nation. They're fighting for money, personal enrichment. We're not. We're fighting for freedom. And we will not stop. If they wish to engage, if they wish to push this envelope and try to take over this nation. It seemed like the Browns were growing more radical with each passing day. In an interview with WTSL in Hanover, Elaine Brown told the host, quote, 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. We will not waver from our position. It's good against evil. And we're standing with God and we know, no matter what happens, that we are righteous. We have committed absolutely no crime.

Ed took it a step further as usual. He indicated that the unwillingness of federal authorities to see his righteousness made it his moral responsibility to kill them. Ed said that they were standing on the precipice of another Waco and warned local law enforcement that there would be consequences if any attempt were made to take him or his wife into custody. Quote,

What's wrong with you people? Are you that oblivious to what's truly going on in this country? This is 1776 all over again by the same group of people. Needless to say, Ed and Elaine Brown weren't making many friends with people in positions of power. However, when asked about the couple, Ron Paul, the congressman and outspoken anti-taxer from Texas who had recently announced his candidacy for the 2008 Republican nomination for president,

made some lofty comparisons. So in many ways, people who point this out and fight the tax code and fight the monetary system are heroic. I mean, I gave a speech on the House floor just recently and called them the true patriots. But I also point out that it's risky business. And I compare them to people like Gandhi, who's willing to speak out and try to bring about change in a peaceful manner. Martin Luther King.

fought laws that were unfair and unjust, but he suffered too. But it takes people like that to stand up and talk about these things and point it out instead of us all being zombies and just going along. And it is easier to go along with the system. Ed and Elaine Brown, the Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. of the new millennium.

I'll admit they do make a cute couple lugging around their matching firearms in an attempt to avoid matching orange jumpsuits all because they did not want to contribute to the land they claim to love. Unsurprisingly, their message seemed to resonate with a lot of people. It was civil disobedience for the ever oppressed white man with an internet connection and too much time on his hands.

In May 2007, Ed and Elaine Brown announced that they would not appeal their convictions. Why should they? They had no faith in the courts. "We are not appealing. We have turned our backs on the courts. We will not recognize their authority, their jurisdiction. They have none." "It's communism in its purest form," Ed told the Los Angeles Times while sitting on his porch.

"It's not communism, though," a guest of the Browns chimed in. "It's totalitarianism. It's Marxism," another supporter interjected. "No, no, no. Guys, guys, don't give me that," Ed interrupted, raising his voice. "I've done 15 years of research here. On June 1, 2007, property tax bills were mailed to the residents of Plainfield. Predictably, the Browns refused to pay."

Ed told a local newspaper that the town did not provide him any services, so he would not contribute to them anymore. Even though a few months earlier, a supporter of the Browns had a medical emergency at their house, and the taxpayer-funded emergency services responded by driving to the property on taxpayer-funded roads. Hi, this is Lauren Canario, and I support an NLA Brown. And today I was visiting, and there was sort of an event happening today with a

Ed Brown also told the newspaper that he objected to paying local taxes because they fund education. The only thing public schools teach is, quote, communism and homosexuality, Ed claimed. Let's face it, school would have been far more interesting if that were true.

But truth was not welcome at the Brown residence. These people were ready to die over lies that were forwarded to them in chain emails on AOL. The IRS and the federal income tax are part of a deliberate plot perpetrated by Freemasons to control the American people and eventually the world, Ed announced.

We're not conspiracy theorists. We deal with conspiracy facts. Freemasonry and Judaism. That is the truth. That is the fact. That is where all the world's problems come from. I know for a fact that they're working together. Law enforcement, Ed added, was part of a Zionist Illuminati Freemason movement, and the federal government had no jurisdiction in New Hampshire. Do I look like I'm dangerous? But I could be. I could be.

Did you think our forefathers were dangerous? But they could be, couldn't they? Thank you. Anyone is dangerous if you threaten their lives or their land or their personal property or whatever. When you put someone's back against the wall, they have no place to go. It's like any animal. They become dangerous, don't they? There you go. You have your own answer.

The Browns' New Hampshire neighbors were getting nervous. The violent rhetoric, the rotating cast of strange men parading around town in American flag hats and t-shirts and belt buckles. The situation had dragged on for almost six months. When was it going to end? The U.S. Marshals had a plan. They had been conducting surveillance on the Browns' residents for months. The surveillance had revealed a pattern.

Every day Ed would travel to the end of his long gravel driveway to pick up his mail. The Marshals planned to ambush Ed on one of those trips and take him into custody without incident. The date was set for Thursday, June 7th, 2007. The Marshals, FBI, ATF, and SWAT teams were positioned throughout the woods. Unexpectedly, that morning, a Brown supporter came strolling up the driveway. It was a man named Danny Riley, a plumber from New York.

He was walking Ed and Elaine's dog Zoe, who started barking when she noticed an agent in the brush wearing a camouflaged ghillie suit. Danny Riley yelled out to the man, "What are you doing? Turkey hunting?" He was moving around and I yelled to him, "What are you doing turkey hunting?" And he froze at that point. And I'm looking in the woods 20-30 yards in and meanwhile his dog Zoe, a German Shepherd, came up alongside me and stepped off the dirt road into the woods.

And at that point he practically walked on a U.S. Marshal and the Marshal popped right up in front of me. At the time I didn't know it was a Marshal and yelled freeze and pointed a gun at me. At that point I just turned around and running and I started screaming, Ed, they're here, Ed, they're here. And that's when the first round whizzed right by my head. As Danny Riley retreated to the house, a second bullet flew by him. Danny said he could hear it ripping through the leaves in the brush ahead.

I was screaming at the top of my lungs, don't shoot me, don't shoot me, I'm unarmed. Danny rounded the bend in the driveway to find additional agents waiting for him with guns drawn. Get down, get down, get down, pointing their guns at me. I still had Elaine's coffee mug in my hand, so I dropped it on the ground. You got me, you got me, Riley yelled to the officers as he laid face down on the ground.

Then, Riley says, while he was in a totally submissive position, one of the marshals tased him before he was dogpiled. Ed Brown heard the commotion and appeared in his watchtower with a rifle but did not shoot. Instead, he watched as Danny Riley was handcuffed and led down the driveway. Danny was transported to the police station where he was interrogated and then handed a bus ticket back to New York. This morning, in our ongoing investigation...

Our personnel, United States Marshals Service personnel, encountered a supporter of the Browns near their house in Plainfield, New Hampshire, and he was detained. There were no injuries to the supporter and no injuries to any law enforcement officer. This individual is in custody and he's being questioned as we speak. The U.S. Marshals claimed that they were on the Browns' property that morning to serve a search warrant for Elaine's dental office. That was later revealed to be untrue.

The authorities had organized to make an arrest that day, but the plan had failed because of the unexpected plumber, who the authorities admitted they had fired at using non-lethal rounds. As we have said from the very beginning, and as I have said on many occasions, we will continue to communicate with Ed and Elaine Brown in an effort to get them to do the right thing, which is to surrender to the United States Marshals Service.

They have been sentenced in absentia to 63 months in prison each, and those orders have not gone away for their arrest. The U.S. Marshals accused the Browns of escalating matters by continuing to obstruct justice, threatening to kill law enforcement, and encouraging others to assist them. The most recent Danny Riley incident certainly did nothing to de-escalate the situation.

because two days later, Ed Brown sent supporter Jason Gerhard to purchase more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition. Gerhard also bought ingredients necessary for constructing pipe bombs, which they did. "The U.S. Marshal's office absolutely confirmed and said they would not come down here and assault this land. They lied." Ed Brown had also built several spring-loaded zip guns designed to fire 12-gauge shotgun shells when triggered by a trip wire.

The booby traps were planted in the woods surrounding the Browns' residence, along with three one-pound bombs containing highly explosive chemicals. The government retaliated by cutting off power and utilities to the compound in the following weeks, but the Browns claimed to be unbothered. Their solar panels, wind turbines, and prepaid cell phones kept them connected. The Browns would not be silenced. They had plenty more to say.

On June 18, 2007, they hosted a press conference on their property and invited media from all over the world. The opening act was Randy Weaver, whose wife and 14-year-old son had been killed by federal agents during a standoff in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, back in 1992. Perhaps Mr. Weaver would help calm everyone's nerves.

I'd rather die on my feet right here with people like this, good American people, than live on my knees anymore under this de facto government that'll lie to you, steal from you, murder you, make you commit suicide. This is serious stuff. Bring it on. Okay then. Next up was the main event. Ed and Elaine Brown. They stood side by side behind the podium, fielding questions from reporters.

Elaine repeated the couple's claim that no law required them to pay federal taxes. If there is such a law, why don't they just show it, she asked. Ed turned his attention toward the federal authorities that were pursuing them. He said the marshals changed the rules of engagement by firing shots at Danny Riley.

This is a new rule of engagement for getting information. They intended to come in that day, obviously, they were going to kill him, they were going to try to kill us. Now the whole complexion has changed. They have just brought this thing to a new level. Now they plan on doing the same thing to us as they did at Ruby Ridge. Remember, if they now stopped at our door, they're going to be at your door next.

If you think not, remember they were at Ruby Ridge's door. We didn't stop them there, did we? Or Waco, did we? And other people around the country. Now they're at our door. Then they'll be at your doorstep. There was a humorous moment in the press conference when Ed Brown delved into his usual ramblings about Freemasons and the Illuminati. Elaine gives her husband a figurative kick under the table. You can hear her whisper, listen. We don't appeal to a criminal organization.

We have not appealed. We will not appeal. Remember, this organization I'm talking about, if you look up in the records, folks, is Freemasonry. Whether you like it or not, they're everywhere. Are you worried about me? Oh, sure. Wouldn't you be? Yeah. Would you like to trade places? They're coming in. If they come in, it's...

We're dead. That's it. We will not be arrested. We will not volunteer to go into their prison for a non-crime. We have committed no crimes. So we don't submit? We told them we either walk out of here free or we die. That's it. Then we do this for you folks. Don't forget it. Two weeks after that press conference, the Browns hosted a small concert on their property to raise even more awareness of this battle between good and evil.

It was called the Fall Freedom Fest, organized by the We the People radio network. About 200 people attended. By midday Saturday, dozens of cars pulled into the driveway, some Brown supporters coming out to talk with police, as well as reporters who were not allowed inside. Sort of having a good time, hanging out, enjoying the summer sun, and...

just listening to music. I wanted to talk with Elaine and Ed Brown and other people that are interested in exposing the government corruption. It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Then what? Would all of this be worth it? Is it or hasn't been worth it? And if so, either way, why? History will tell if it's been worth it. If we can make a difference.

Yeah, it's worth it. If we never make a difference, well, we gave it our best shot. We did what our conscience tells us to do. We did what's in our hearts and what we feel is right. Around 11:30 p.m. on July 28, 2007, emergency dispatchers received multiple reports that 30 to 40 shots had been fired at the Browns' property. The entire state of New Hampshire held its collective breath. Many feared the worst had happened.

However, the local media discovered that there had been no law enforcement activity in the area that night, nor had anyone at the Browns' residence fired any guns. Further investigation revealed that the shots came from a neighbor engaging in some midnight target practice, a collective sigh of relief. But all was not well at the Browns' compound. A gathering of that many short-dicked, small-brained alpha males can lead to infighting, which is precisely what was happening.

Sometimes a common enemy is not enough to keep the peace. Some of the Browns' longest-tenured supporters had left on their own merit for personal reasons, but several others had been ejected by Mr. Brown. Well, the only attack that's going on is the people in the Patriot Movement that are supposed to be my friends. The only trouble that I've been having, I've had no trouble whatsoever from any federal agency whatsoever, or police. It's only from the Patriot Movement, so-called Patriot Movement.

First, there was Bill Miller, the ex-military exercise trainer who lived with the Browns for a short time. After his exit, Miller told friends that Ed Brown was worth more to him dead than alive. He also sent out a press release officially declaring that he was not to be known as a supporter nor associate of Edward Lewis Brown. Quote,

Brown has ignored, on many occasions throughout the years, the good counsel of some valiant, focused, hard-working freedom fighters whom, unfortunately, exemplify a larger spiritual vision and a more finely-tuned sense of balance and reason than does Brown. Serino Gonzales was the next to leave.

At one time, Reno was considered Ed Brown's right-hand man. The former military contractor and weapons expert had served as the Browns' personal security officer during the standoff and posted long, incoherent MySpace blog posts on their behalf. Ed reportedly pushed Serino Gonzalez out after he and his father offered some criticisms of their security plan. When he returned home, Reno posted a message on his MySpace page, quote,

I found Ed Brown to be an arrogant, ambitious, self-serving man that is using everyone around him, including Elaine, for his own personal political gain." Ed Brown had also forced conservative blogger Doug Kinline to leave the property. After discovering that Kinline was allowing the IRS to garnish his wages to cover unpaid back taxes, Brown reportedly told Kinline that he would not be talking to any more people who aren't going to stand up for the lawful laws of this land.

"People can be slaves," Ed reportedly said, "and I'm not going to associate with them anymore." There were numerous other examples, but you get the point. All of these people were just a means to an end. There was always new blood ready to take a stand and incriminate themselves in the process. Speaking of which, four of the defected were arrested almost immediately after they left the Browns' compound.

In September 2007, the U.S. Marshals announced that Serino Gonzalez, Jason Gerhard, Robert Wolfe, and Danny Riley, again, have been charged with a range of felonies for helping the Browns obstruct justice. Those charges included accessory after the fact and possession and use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. These men are alleged to have helped the Browns in their ongoing refusal to surrender to authorities. Marshall Stephen Monier said,

"Anyone who aids the Browns is subject to investigation, arrest and prosecution for serious felonies, which carry very heavy prison sentences." Ed Brown was unperturbed. "It's all nonsense as usual," he said. "They always pick the wrong targets and they pick the wrong targets again." Besides, everyone that had been arrested had already been replaced. The most recent addition to the gang of middle-aged freedom fighters was a man they called Dutch.

This Dutch character had ingratiated himself with the Browns through a supporter named Sean Cranish, who ran an online forum called makethestand.com. Dutch frequently posted on the forum to warn other supporters of infiltration. In a room of ten supporters, Dutch wrote, there's bound to be at least one snitch or undercover operator. It took months before Ed Brown was comfortable allowing Dutch into their home.

Eventually, Sean Cranish made the introduction and everybody warmed up to the new team member in short order. Elaine Brown even fixed the broken fillings in Dutch's teeth. During the procedure, Elaine told Dutch that she had boxes of dental supplies and tools at her office in West Lebanon that she wished she could retrieve. But Elaine knew the feds were surveilling the place. It wasn't worth the risk. "Allow me," Dutch offered. He told her that he and a few associates would happily make the trip. All he needed was the key.

"But why? Why would you take such a risk for someone you don't know?" Elaine asked. "Because I love you guys," Dutch replied. On October 4th, 2007, Dutch delivered. He arrived at the Browns' residence with four other men, each carrying a bag of Elaine's dental supplies. The men had also brought pizza and beer. Ed Brown holstered his gun and invited them to stay.

They chatted about the couple's legal woes while eating and drinking on the front porch. A good time was had by all, until suddenly, according to Elaine Brown, "they all jumped us." Elaine claims the Dutch secured her hands while another man used a taser on her left knee. The other two members of Dutch's gang forced Ed Brown out of his chair, through the front door, and onto the foyer floor. Both Ed and Elaine Brown were placed under arrest.

The couple was transported to the Lebanon police station where they were held for an hour before being taken to their jail cells to immediately begin serving their 63-month sentences for the tax case. More charges were on the way. Elaine later wrote that she passed by the cell where Ed was kept. They kissed through the metal screen. "That is the last time I saw my husband."

The Browns were convicted of tax evasion in January. They were sentenced in April. But the last few months, they have not been cooperative. They've holed themselves up in their playing field home. And federal agents believe the whole place was booby-trapped and that any kind of confrontation with them could be deadly. But in a top-secret operation last night, they went in and arrested the Browns peacefully. It is unclear how the federal agents got to the Browns.

All they are saying at this time is that the arrest took place at the Browns' Plainfield home at 7:45 last night. Well, good morning, folks. My name is Steve Monier. I'm the United States Marshal for the District of New Hampshire. I want to thank you all for coming this morning. Obviously, we're here to talk about the arrests of Edward and Elaine Brown.

Last evening at approximately 7:45, a small team of Deputy U.S. Marshals arrested both Edward and Elaine Brown at their home in Plainfield in a coordinated and planned operation. This ended exactly the way we wanted it to end, without a shot being fired and with no one getting hurt.

As determined as Ed and Elaine Brown were, or may have been, to have this dispute end in violence, the U.S. Marshals were equally determined to resolve this situation peacefully. Throughout this ordeal, the bad news was that the Browns continued to invite supporters to their property. The good news was that the Browns continued to invite supporters to their property.

Last evening, the Browns invited yet another what they thought were like-minded group of individuals to their home. Unfortunately for them, these supporters actually turned out to be Deputy U.S. Marshals. By the time Ed and Elaine Brown realized this, they were in custody. Ultimately, this open-door policy that they seemed to have, which allowed the Browns to have some supporters bring them supplies, welcome followers, even host a picnic,

After the arrest, law enforcement began searching the Browns' home. There were weapons everywhere. Bombs in the kitchen cabinets. Ammunition next to the stack of jigsaw puzzles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

There were explosive bags hanging from the trees, smoke bombs, nail bombs, pipe bombs, etc. In addition to 18 other guns, 60,000 rounds of ammunition, and a selection of guerrilla warfare literature. On January 21, 2009, Edward and Elaine Brown were indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple conspiracy, obstruction, and weapons charges. In response, the Browns filed at least 30 legal motions filled with sovereign citizen nonsense.

Both Ed and Elaine's competency to stand trial would be evaluated. While the Browns were awaiting trial, Sean Cranish, the man responsible for introducing Dutch to the couple, recorded a series of phone calls with both Ed and Elaine.

He swarmed us, Ed told Sean.

I had the opportunity to stop Dutch real quick and real brief. You know I'm really fast, but I'm not going to hurt anybody, and I don't want to hurt anybody. On the same token, I let it go down and let it happen. But I did not expect this. Ed Brown also relayed that he had been mistreated at the low-security federal prison in Ohio where he was being held. I was gassed through the ventilation system.

At the end of the calls, Sean Cranish allowed Ed Brown to record a message to his wife Elaine.

Sean promised to play it for her the next time he called. How about we record something to Elaine right now? Okay. I see that. I don't know what to say to you because I bet somebody who wants to see you every day misses you badly because you don't. No. Ed, she thinks about you all the time. We all do. There's a lot of people out here. That's right.

I told people that I was going to be receiving a phone call from you today and I got a bunch of people through the internet that wanted me to let you know that they care about you and they think about you all the time. I know they do and I love them all. I just realized I made a terrible mistake. I overestimated these people and their cruelty. I never thought that these governmental so-called officials would go this far. I should have been aware of that. That's okay. As the lady says, we'll get out of there. I'm ready to go.

Elaine Brown would never hear those messages from Ed. Third-party calls were against the rules. She would have been placed in solitary confinement if the prison staff found out, Elaine informed Sean. But regardless of the circumstances, Elaine Brown tried to remain positive. And another silver lining of what's happened here is that it's just like these events had not turned out the way we did. There are so many wonderful people out there that Ed and I would never have met.

Hope was all that remained. And to my dear husband Ed, we miss you.

That's all I'm gonna say.

Both Ed and Elaine Brown were deemed competent to stand trial. On July 9, 2009, they were both found guilty of all charges against them. Elaine, 69 years old, was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Ed, 67, was sentenced to 37 years. All of their possessions were seized and sold.

Brown was given 45 minutes of uninterrupted time to address the court prior to sentencing. He rambled on about Freemasons, the Illuminati, the press, and his desire to protect the United States, saying, quote, we haven't hurt a soul, end quote, show me the law about taxes. This time, the Browns would appeal their convictions. In January 2012, both were denied.

However, years later, in 2019, a recent Supreme Court decision vacated one of the weapons charges for which the couple had been convicted. As a result, both Ed and Elaine were granted resentencing. Last year, one charge was vacated after the U.S. Supreme Court found the term crime of violence unconstitutionally vague. Now, resentencing is scheduled for January 31st. In its

In advance, Elaine Brown's lawyer argues that she's gone through rehabilitation, that her crimes did not result in violence, and that she was manipulated by her husband and is now seeking a divorce, saying she regrets that she chose to follow her husband down a rabbit hole of extremism, disobedience, and ultimately criminality.

On January 31, 2020, Elaine Brown was re-sentenced the time served of 12 years, and she was released from prison to live with her son. "I am ashamed and embarrassed by my actions," the 78-year-old woman told the judge. Daniel Riley and Jason Gerhardt, two Brown supporters who had received harsh punishments of their own, also had their sentences reduced upon appeal. As for Ed Brown, his request was denied in 2022.

unfairly persecuted as usual.

A convicted tax evader who prosecutors say was behind a months-long standoff with U.S. Marshals will remain behind bars. Ed Brown and his wife were holed up in their fortified Plainfield home back in 2007. After they were arrested, weapons and explosives were discovered. Because of a new legal precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court, he was entitled to be resentenced and appealed. But now an appeals court is rejecting his request.

The 79-year-old would be 91 when he's scheduled to be released from prison. Swindled is written, researched, produced, and hosted by me, a concerned citizen, with original music by Trevor Howard, a.k.a. Deformer, a.k.a. Dutch.

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That's it. Thanks for listening. My name is Stephanie from Corpus Christi, Texas. My name is Jordan from Dublin, Ireland. My name is Jeffrey from Bowie, Maryland. And I am a concerned citizen and a value listener. If the truth hurts, take an Advil. It just gets worse.

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