Edward and Elaine Brown

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.[7] 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.[7]

According to an October 1994 article in the New Hampshire Sunday News,[8] 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).[8]

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."[8] The newspaper reported that Brown said he saw no way the conflict would end except in violence.[8] The paper stated: "Brown, who says he is an agnostic, admits it's easy to dismiss him as a nut."[8]

• 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.[24]
• On February 13, prosecutors ask a court to seize the Browns' property.[25]
• On February 20, Elaine Brown returns to her home in order to be with her husband.[26]
• On February 22, ruling her actions a violation of her bail agreement, a federal judge issues a warrant for Elaine Brown's arrest.[26]

• 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.[27]

• 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.[28]
• 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.[29]

• On May 18, Ed and Elaine Brown are reported as stating they do 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.[30]

• 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.[31] 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.[32] 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.[33] (Subsequent testimony at trial revealed that this operation was in fact an arrest attempt.[34]) In the evening of June 7, Riley records a video describing his encounter with and detainment by federal agents earlier that day.[32] In the video Riley claims that one camouflaged agent fired two shots over his head after he fled from the agent once happening upon him hiding in the woods near the Browns' property. Riley claims that after being tackled and tasered, he was threatened with 15 years in jail by the FBI unless he told the media that the siege was expected and planned for, and was not the outcome of an abortive attempt to serve a warrant.
• On June 18, the Browns host a press conference at their home with Randy Weaver, whose wife and 14-year-old son had been killed by federal agents during a standoff in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in 1992. Weaver voices his support for the Browns, and the Browns reiterate their intentions to avoid arrest by the government.[35]

• On July 14, the Browns hosted a small concert at their Plainfield property.[36] 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.[37] 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.[38] 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.[39] 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."[40]

• 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."[41]

• 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.[42]

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."[2]

The Browns were arrested by undercover officers, who were invited by the Browns into the Brown residence on the evening of Thursday, October 4, 2007. "[B]efore the couple realized they weren't supporters, they were already under arrest."[43] 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."[17]

After the arrests, law enforcement personnel began searching the home and found weapons, ammunition, explosive devices and booby traps.[17] Law enforcement officials found twenty "suspected pipe bombs," nine "destructive devices," bags of high explosives hanging in the trees, smoke grenades, materials for partially constructed nail bombs, two .50-caliber rifles, 18 other guns, and over 60,000 rounds of ammunition.[44]

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."[45]

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.[47][48] Also convicted in other trials were Jason Gerhard[49] of Brookhaven, New York (sentenced to twenty years in prison), Cirino Gonzalez[50] of Alice, Texas (sentenced to eight years in prison), and Robert Wolffe[51] of Randolph, Vermont (who was sentenced to two and a half years).[47]

As a result of the events during the standoff, Edward and Elaine Brown were indicted on January 21, 2009, by a federal grand jury[52][53][7] in Concord, New Hampshire, and were charged with knowingly and willfully conspiring, by force, intimidation and threat, to prevent employees of the United States Marshals Service in the discharge of official duties in the arrest of the Browns, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 372; conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 and subsections (a) and (b) of 18 U.S.C. § 111; carrying and possessing a firearm in connection with a crime of violence, in violation of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of 18 U.S.C. § 924; being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of paragraph (1) of subsection (g) of 18 U.S.C. § 922; obstruction of justice in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1503; and failure to appear for sentencing, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 3146. Edward Brown was also charged with one count of failure to appear for trial in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 3146. See Indictment, United States v. Edward Brown and Elaine Brown.[54]

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."[55] 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."[17] The Browns also claimed: "The U.S. has not had a Treasury since 1921"; "The United States does not have any employees because there is no longer a United States"; "There are no judicial courts in America and there has not been since 1789"; "There have not been any Judges in America since 1789"; "The Revolutionary War was a fraud"; "America is a British colony"; "Britain is owned by the Vatican"; and "A 1040 form [Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return] is for tribute paid to Britain".[56] Elaine Brown's court-appointed lawyer requested that her competency be evaluated.[55] On June 2, 2009, the court ruled that Edward and Elaine Brown were competent to stand trial.[17]

On July 9, 2009, Edward and Elaine Brown were found guilty by the federal district court jury of all counts charged.[57][58]

On October 2, 2009, Elaine Brown was sentenced to 35 years in a Federal prison.[59][7]

In January 2010, Edward Brown was sentenced to 37 years in prison.[7]

Edward and Elaine Brown appealed these convictions to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, but the convictions were upheld by the Court of Appeals on January 19, 2012.[60] 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.[61]

In September 2011, Edward and Elaine Brown were identified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as being members of the sovereign citizen movement.[62]

Edward Brown is scheduled for release on June 9, 2034, when he would be about 92 years old.[63] 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.[64] 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.[65][66]