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It is the second
time the U.S. Marshals Service has tried to sell the property
that includes the fortified compound where Ed and Elaine Brown
lived before agents in 2007 ended the standoff by sneaking onto
the property posing as pizza delivery men.
An auction last August failed to yield any bids, probably
because of concerns that portions of the property were
booby-trapped. At the time, prospective buyers weren’t allowed
to inspect the property out of safety concerns.
This time, would-be buyers have been able to visit the site in
advance with an Internal Revenue Service official, Deputy Chief
U.S. Marshal Brenda Mikelson said on Wednesday.
"From what he’s seen, he’s very confident that the properties
will go," she said, referring to the I.R.S. agent.
The property is located in Plainfleld in the rural western part
of the state. Officials will also auction off Elaine Brown’s
dental office in the nearby city of Lebanon. The proceeds from
any sale are to go toward back taxes owed by the Browns totaling
nearly $500,000, according to the government.
The Browns rejected the federal government's authority to tax
its citizens. The 2007 standoff began when federal agents tried
to apprehend the Browns on tax evasion charges.
During the course of the nine-month standoff, the property drew
numerous anti-government activists, among them Randy Weaver, the
man at the center of the bloody standoff in Ruby Ridge, Idaho in
1992 that left his wife and son dead as well as a federal
marshal.
The Browns are serving at least 30 years in prison on charges of
plotting to kill federal agents.
(Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Tom Heneghan)
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