Two Brunswick men charged with conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service say they don’t plan to show up Friday in federal court, in a case that could have ramifications for Brunswick’s emergency communications system.

David E. Robinson, 75, and F. William Messier, 70, each said in their response to charges that they don’t recognize the federal court system because it is the “jurisdiction of the United State Corporation.”

“Why don’t we conduct a hearing based on the principles of the Unified Maine Common Law Grand Jury – here outside of the jurisdiction of the Federal Zone, on the basis of the Magna Carta of 1215,” Robinson wrote in an email Thursday to the Portland Press Herald.

He signed the email “David Robinson, Interim Attorney General of the Maine Republic Free State Trust, Founder of the Unified Maine Common Law Grand Jury.”

Messier, who also faces charges of failing to file federal tax returns and failing to pay federal income taxes, could not be reached for comment Thursday, but his legal troubles could have broader implications.

For years, Messier has been leasing space on his land off Route 1 in south Brunswick to various entities that want to build or site communications towers and equipment. Court documents allege that Messier never paid income tax on $400,000 he earned from renting space on his tower or from renting land for others to build their own towers.

His clients include cellphone companies, an amateur radio association and the town of Brunswick, which uses a tower there for its emergency communications system.

Brunswick Deputy Police Chief Marc Hagen said the department is aware of the charges against Messier and is taking a wait-and-see approach with regard to its equipment.

“We’re not going to change our equipment at the moment,” he said. Messier has no control over the tower, so emergency communications would not be disrupted, Hagen said.

Joseph Randall, head of the Merrymeeting Amateur Radio Association, said his organization is not taking that chance. “We have removed most of our equipment from the site based on legal advice,” he said.

Randall said he’s known Messier for years and considers him a friend. “I’ve known about his political philosophy,” Randall said. “Let’s just say it’s not anywhere close to mine.” It was not clear what other entities rent or lease from Messier.

Julie Henze, Brunswick’s deputy finance director, said Messier is not registered as a company, so she didn’t have any information on his income.

Brunswick’s finance director, John Eldridge, said in an email that the town last paid Messier $800 in January 2012 to put public works department radio repeaters on his tower. In July 2011, the town paid him $2,100 to put police radio repeaters on the tower.

Henze said Messier and Robinson own property in town and both are current on their taxes.

The federal government has alleged that since 2012, both men have taken steps to obstruct the IRS, which claims that Messier has not filed a federal tax return since 1997.

U.S. Attorney James Chapman, who is assigned to prosecute the two Brunswick men, was aware that they may not appear in court Friday.

“If someone does not appear, an arrest warrant could be issued,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”

Robinson faces up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Messier faces up to 13 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1 million.

Chapman said federal tax fraud cases are relatively common, but the defense being offered by Messier and Robinson – that they do not recognize the authority of the federal government – is less common.

In 2012, Messier and Robinson sued the IRS and several of its agents, the U.S. Senate, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the town of Brunswick and several telecommunications companies in federal court, claiming that the IRS had no authority to levy taxes against them. The case didn’t get far.

“(The) plaintiffs’ complaint is simply a conglomeration of well-worn taxpayer protest arguments,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk concluded in dismissing the complaint. “These arguments have been considered and uniformly rejected by courts for years.”

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