BOSTON -- A New Hampshire couple convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to jail said Monday that they won't surrender to authorities.

Ed and Elaine Brown were convicted of federal tax evasion in January. They did not appear in court for their sentencing, where they were ordered to serve five and a half years in prison. They have remained in their heavily fortified home in Plainfield, N.H., since April.

During a news conference outside the Browns' home, Ed Brown said that if officials move in, "we're dead. That's it."

Ed Brown dismissed the police as "mercenaries" and the media gathered for the press conference as "order-takers." He said law enforcement officers were using the excuse of just following orders as they engaged in a waiting game with the Browns.

"All police officers today in this nation are mercenaries," he said. "They are all guns for hire."

"For many years, many thousands of people have been asking the (Internal Revenue Service) to show them the law requiring the average American to pay tax on the fruits of their labor," said Elaine Brown. "They have never done so."

Ruby Ridge survivor Randy Weaver, whose wife and son were killed along with a deputy U.S. marshal in the Idaho standoff in 1992, joined the Browns. Weaver held up a picture of his wife and daughter during the press conference.

"When they shot her, she was holding my youngest daughter, when they shot my wife through the head," Weaver said. "I'm not afraid of dying no more. I am kind of curious about the next life."

Weaver said that the situation in Plainfield was a similar situation to Ruby Ridge.

"This is why I am here. If this gets out of control, this is going to happen here. I'd rather die on my feet right now with good American people than live on my knees. This is serious stuff. Bring it on," Weaver said.

Weaver said that he knows the situation that the Browns are in and that he supports them 100 percent.

"Being an atheist, I am praying for a miracle that some common sense will prevail," Weaver said.

Officials have said that there are no plans to try to take the Browns by force and that they are trying to encourage the couple to surrender.