U.S. marshals posing as supporters carried out the arrests of tax evaders Ed and Elaine Brown, officials said Friday.
The undercover officers were invited in by the Browns on Thursday evening, and before the couple realized they weren't supporters, they were already under arrest.
"Ultimately, this open-door policy that they 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," U.S. Marshal Stephen Monier said. "They invited us in. We escorted them out."
Would that the legend about vampires not being able to cross your threshold unless invited in were true--but not that it would have mattered in this case.
Even with supporters you think you know, there is always the danger of a Judas--as happened in the case of Wayne Fincher. And like Fincher, expect to see the judge strictly limit which arguments are allowed and what the jury can hear. Which means don't be surprised if "show me the law" is ruled inadmissible. Expect it.
The lesson, of course, could not be clearer. Obey or be destroyed. Or we'll get you one at a time and make examples of you.
Realistically--do we expect any other outcome? In searching for answers, the one constant seems to be a lone individual or group that overtly defies will be besieged and overcome. Whether we believe in the justness of their cause is rendered immaterial by the certain response. So while I feel great sympathy and rue that things are not the way I want them to be, I can't recommend making yourself a target by publicly defying edicts as an effective way to achieve personal freedom.
The "good" news is, it looks like "the authorities" are afraid to pull a Waco/Ruby Ridge redux--at least for now.
[Via WmH]
3 comments:
Aren't these the people who were convicted of tax evasion and refused to report to prison after the sentencing phase of the trial? If so, what's the big deal about using trickery to get them into custody?
Whatever you think of the underlying criminal law, the fact is that all of the procedures were followed ("i's" dotted and "t's" crossed) and these folks are federal convicts. It's the job of the U S Marshals to take those people into custody.
wrangler5, I could probably make the same case for plenty of people convicted of "gun offenses."
What's the big deal--just because the Constitution says one thing, all the "i's" were dotted.
And those taking them in were doing their jobs, that is, just following orders.
"And those taking them in were doing their jobs, that is, just following orders."-David
Perhaps we should give them the Adolph Eichmann Award for Outstanding Achievement in Societal Order.
Or maybe the Klaus Barbie award for "Just Folowing Orders."
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Or the Michael Vick award "The Whoopi Goldberg It's Just Part of the Thang" award.
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