During the nearly nine months that Ed Brown was holed up in his fortified Plainfield home, he promised an apocalyptic showdown if marshals came to arrest him.

But when the time came, Brown said, he "didn't even resist one second" when a marshal he knew as "Dutch" tackled him. Brown described his arrest in a recorded phone conversation from prison that was posted online Wednesday night.

"He swarmed us. I had the opportunity to stop Dutch, real quick and real brief. You know I'm really fast," Brown says in the recording. "I'm not going to hurt anybody, and I don't want to hurt anybody. On the same token, I let it go down and let it happen. But I did not expect this."

The call was recorded by Shaun Kranish, an Illinois supporter who started a Brown-devoted website and, according to Brown, was the one who introduced Dutch to the Browns. In the recording, Kranish says that he told prison officials he was part of Brown's legal team to place the call. (Ed Brown does not have a lawyer, because he believes all bar members are part of an international conspiracy to rob Americans of their freedoms.)

Now, settled in a low-security federal prison in Ohio, Brown says that he's been mistreated by prison officials and marshals, who Tasered him, "gassed" him, subjected him to sensory deprivation and needlessly isolated him from other inmates. The damage, he said, may be permanent.

"I was told they were professional," Brown said. "They've been professional - but professional in their cruelty."

U.S. Marshal Stephen Monier, who orchestrated the couple's arrest, said he had heard the recording and did not wish to comment on Brown's accusations. In previous interviews, he has described allegations of torture as "ludicrous."

Brown said that the mistreatment began at a holding facility in Rhode Island, where he was "gassed through the ventilation system" three times with a chemical that smelled like cleaning fluid.

"I was breathing on the floor, underneath, the space underneath the bottom of the door, just so I could survive and keep breathing. I think I passed out slightly a couple of times," he said. "I was crying against the door and stuff and banging. The guards walked away and did nothing."

When he was transferred to the Elkton, Ohio, prison where he now lives, Brown was subjected to repeated strip searches then placed in an isolation room with a glass door while wearing nothing but a large blanket for 15 hours, he said. Brown said prison officials told him that he was on suicide watch.

"If they're going to put me in a suicide watch, you should put me in a warm room and comfort me and keep me relaxed," Brown said.

Brown also said that he has only gone outside once since arriving in Ohio, on account of the weather.

"It's too cold. I'm too cold. I can't take this cold out there," Brown said. "This is the Great Lakes area."

Brown said he had not been subjected to "diesel therapy," a form of torture in which a prisoner is shackled, fitted in too-tight boots and driven around for long periods of time, according to Brown supporters. Speculation that marshals were "dieseling" Brown were rife on internet message boards and radio broadcasts in the days following his arrest.

In an interview, Kranish said that he was dismayed by Brown's account of prison life.

"The big thing is that Ed is not really a guy to exaggerate," Kranish said. "So if Ed says he was gassed, then he was gassed, and I totally believe it."

In the interview, Kranish said the recording posted online was authentic. A spokesman for the Elkton facility said the warden was not able to comment on the phone call yesterday. Monier did not dispute that the voice on the recording was Brown's.

Ed and Elaine Brown are serving 63-month prison sentences for a series of tax-related crimes. They were convicted in January but evaded capture for months by holing up in their self-sufficient hilltop home, entertaining guests and threatening violence if marshals came to arrest them. On numerous occasions, the Browns said they were prepared to die before surrendering and were planning to kill federal agents on the way out.

"You attack my property, it's going to get really violent," Brown told the Monitor in January, in a characteristic statement. "I don't care who it is."

Their actual arrest went differently. Rather than storming the castle, marshals used a small undercover team disguised as supporters, Monier said. According to Kranish, he and "Dutch" had been chatting online since March or April and had met in person at least once. Kranish introduced "Dutch" to the Browns.

Brown said he had his doubts about "Dutch" and called two friends before the scheduled visit to warn them about a "suspected sting." Bernie Bastian, one of those friends, said after the arrest that Brown had promised to call him back once the encounter ended, but never did.

On the recording, Kranish asks Brown if "Dutch" was the one who arrested him. Brown says yes.

"I had no idea. He tricked me. He got me completely fooled," Kranish says.

On the online forum of Kranish's website, makethestand.com, Kranish reposted a long posting made by "Dutch" in June. In the posting, "Dutch" warns supporters to look out for the forces of "fear, uncertainty and doubt." He also cautions them to beware of spies.

"Beware of the inside man (or woman). Every peaceful political movement knows that they are already infiltrated. In a room of 10 supporters there is bound to be at least one snitch or undercover operator.," Dutch wrote.

Some Brown supporters criticized Kranish yesterday for trusting a man who turned out to be a federal agent.

"I don't know if you would say that I am more disappointed or mad at Shaun for his serious lack of judgment," wrote one poster, named "NeoRayden."

But other Brown supporters indicated yesterday that they too knew "Dutch" before the arrests. Fred Smart, an Illinois radio host and blogger, said that Kranish and "Dutch" had had a "secret meeting" together in South Bend, Ind.

"This was some back, behind the scenes intrigue," Smart said, on Ed Brown's daily radio show, Ed Brown Under Siege, which has continued broadcasting despite the Browns' arrests. "Shaun feels entirely bad."

"MaidMarion," another poster on Kranish's website, said that several supporters had been duped.

"It was not only Shaun who was fooled by this guy Dutch," she wrote. "It was quite a few. Dutch had been checked out time and time again. It was not an overnight thing. He was known for months. He had 'special' skills that he offered Ed and Elaine. He was believed to be genuine."

According to supporters, no one has been able to speak with Elaine Brown, who is serving her time in a minimum security prison in Danbury, Conn. Several supporters received letters from her yesterday.

"Ed and I have done our job as we have been directed by Yahweh," the letter said, according to a re-typing posted online. "We know in our hearts that we have done what is right. we must now pass the baton on to others to continue the fight."

Monier said the Browns may face new charges for their behavior since their convictions. He has also said marshals will continue to investigate supporters. Four prominent supporters were arrested in September and are scheduled for trial next month.

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By MARGOT SANGER-KATZ

Monitor staff