Actor Wesley Snipes, in a letter sent to the Internal Revenue Service after his indictment in 2006, declared himself "a nonresident alien" of the United States and claimed the Internal Revenue Service seeks to "terrorize, enslave, rape or pillage" taxpayers, according to a report in the Ocala Star-Banner.
The "Blade" star sent the letter on Dec. 4, 2006, following his indictment earlier that year on tax fraud charges. He also delivered a stern warning that continued prosecution would result in "significant personal liability" for federal employees who pursued him, according to the report.
"Warning - pursuit of such a high profile target will open the door for your increased collateral risk," Snipes wrote in the letter, which was read into the court record Thursday at Snipes' trial. "I certainly don't believe this is in your best interest."
He also refuted his Social Security number in documents that were included in a sealed indictment that was opened last October.
Snipes' lawyer, Robert Barnes, denied the comments were intend as a threat.
"Not at all, not at all," Barnes was quoted in the Star-Banner. "A lot of it was very gentle."
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