Elaine Brown's lawyer has begun laying the groundwork for a defense that his client was not involved in many of the most dangerous actions undertaken during the nearly nine-month standoff in 2007 between federal agents and Brown and her husband, Ed.

The Browns are on trial for a combined 11 felonies, including conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and the illegal possession of guns and bombs. If they are found guilty, they face virtual life sentences. The most serious charge - for possessing "destructive devices" - carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison.

During his opening statement, Elaine Brown's lawyer, Bjorn Lange, indicated that he would argue that Brown's conduct and statements during the standoff were justified because of her fear that federal agents intended to harm her.

But in cross-examination of several witnesses yesterday, he suggested something different - that Elaine Brown had little connection to the numerous bombs and guns that have been described during the trial.

"None of the latent prints you found on (exhibits of evidence) matched a known print of Elaine Brown?" Lange asked a fingerprint analyst from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who had just testified that 40 of Ed Brown's fingerprints had been recovered from items found in the couple's fortified Plainfield home, including pipe bombs, gunpowder grenades and a rifle scope that had been attached to a .50-caliber rifle.

"That's correct," the expert, Alison Rees, told jurors.

The Browns were convicted of tax-related felonies in January 2007, but they held off federal agents for nearly nine months by holing up in their self-sufficient concrete home, entertaining armed guests and issuing repeated threats of violence. They were arrested in October 2007 by a team of undercover U.S. marshals disguised as supporters.

Evidence to date has focused largely on the extensive arsenal of military equipment, guns and improvised explosive devices that investigators say they found spread throughout the Browns' home after their arrest.

Yesterday, firearms experts testified about 16 guns found in the house, and gun dealers described selling many of them to two Brown supporters who have already been found guilty of conspiring with the couple.

A witness yesterday also testified about the high explosive compound he sold to one Brown supporter. Containers of the material, called Tannerite, were found suspended in trees adorned with neon target labels around the perimeter of the Browns' home. Daniel Tanner, an Oregon explosives dealer who sold five cases of Tannerite to a Brown supporter, said that if those containers were detonated, they would likely cause an explosion of plastic shards, nails and tree bark.

Tanner said the product was designed as an exploding rifle target and was not intended for detonation near trees, houses or people.

Elaine Brown's brother, George Bernier, came from Indianapolis to attend court yesterday. The retired Los Angeles police detective sat behind her during most of the day and spoke with her briefly during breaks in testimony.

At one point, he reached across the bar to hug Brown, but marshals stopped the two from embracing. Instead, he squeezed her hand.

The guards appeared to ignore his request to speak briefly with Ed Brown.

In an interview outside the courtroom, Bernier described his sister as a kind and intelligent woman who had been manipulated by her husband.

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