WAR TAX RESISTERS IN COURT

Milwaukee War Tax Resistance was joined by other groups for tax day leafletting and a rally April 15 at the Reuss Federal Building, location of the local IRS office.

Later, four people carried signs to the IRS office door that stated “Stop paying for the wars in Kosovo and Iraq,” “Why pray for peace while paying for war?” “The Pentagon spends $9,000 a second while homeless increase,” and “Stop paying for the S.O.A.”  The four sang peace songs in front of the IRS office doors, but were then asked to leave the building or be arrested.  Police arrived soon afterwards and arrested Ryan O’Rourke, Mary Pichelmann, Lincoln Rice, and Don Timmerman on charges of disorderly conduct.  They were cited and released at the police station, pending trial July 15.

Police told the four, “You know that you will not change much.” They replied, “Yes, we know that, but we do not want to be changed by the violence of our culture.”

For more information, contact Milwaukee War Tax resistance, P.O. Box 05206, Milwaukee, WI 53205, (414)344-5745.


Long-time public war tax resister Ed Hedemann was served an order to show cause on December 11, telling him to report to court why he “should not be compelled to testify and produce books... demanded in the IRS summons.”  The summons was originally served in January, 1998, and during two brief interviews with an IRS agent, the Brooklyn pacifist had declined to bring any records and spoke only of war tax resistance.

After postponements and consideration of opposing briefs, the judge rejected Hedemann’s “political” arguments, but said his 5th Amendment claim shouldn’t have to be repeated through successive summonses.  At the March 5 hearing for Hedemann, with 50 of his friends in attendance, she suggested the IRS might just drop the matter.

In January, even before the attacks on Yugoslavia, Hedemann wondered, “Since 1972, the IRS has routinely sent me threatening notices and levies, called me at home, harassed organizations I work for, and looked for nonexistent bank accounts and property, but this is the first time they’ve ever taken me to court.  I guess they’re in desperate need of money to pay for all those cruise missiles.”

Maybe, but Hedemann hasn’t heard from the IRS at all since March.

For more information, contact the War Resisters League, 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012, (212)228-0450, email: wrl@igc.org

Trespass charges against nuclear war resisting nurse Ed Martiszus were dismissed in January.  Martiszus has repeatedly leafletted and petitioned a former employer - a church-owned hospital - asking compensation for taxes it withheld from his wages for the war budget, against his will and violating his conscience.  Martiszus also refuses to pay state taxes, citing documents that indicate tax-paid state police regularly guard shipments of illicit nuclear weapons through the state, probably en route to or from the Trident submarine base at Bangor.  As a result, the state has threatened to pull his license as a registered nurse.  For his part, Martiszus is considering a complaint against the Oregon Department of Revenue for human and civil rights violations that would compel him to subsidize a protection racket for illegal weapons of mass destruction.

For more information, contact Martiszus at (503)241-4561.