The following is a letter written to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales after the A.G.'s office launched its new initiative for 2007. It's called the First Freedom Project referring to the First Amendment protection of religious freedom. Especially interesting is the speech given to the Southern Baptist Convention in Tennessee. This is great news!

Reverend Tom Brown can be found at The First Church of the Magi.

To all our relations. Mitakeoyesay!

Greetings in the name of the most high, Jah Rastafari, ever faithful, ever sure, Jah Rastafari.One Love brethren. 

Greetings Counselor Treene, U.S. Dept. Justice, 

A fellow minister, Rev. Joshua Snider, forwarded information about your project there at the Attorney General's office.  Thank God we finally have this chance to speak of the unspeakable. 

In 1988, several of my community were moved by the Holy Spirit of God to found "Our Church".  Due to the persecution that we have faced from the Pope's armies and their civil authority surrogates since 1188, our original church founders are still in hiding from that 1988 burst of the Spirit upon them.  Like Jonah they have fled into the wilderness and seek to avoid the Voice of God that calls them. 

In 1994 I was called by God to make plain the way for Our Church.  Acting in accordance with my own imperfect overstandings of this, I deeded an acre of my farm to Our Church and 8 others and I founded Our Church Inc., a religious non-profit corporation of the State of Arkansas. 

In August of 1994 I was arrested for growing our sacramental plants on the church property.  Our sacraments are Peyote and Marijuana.  At trial, the court refused to implement RFRA (42 U.S.C. sec. 2000bb et al) as written by Congress and as interpreted by the courts in published opinions prior to my trial. 

At trial all mention of the church was suppressed.  All mention of the federal exemption for religious use of Peyote was suppressed in violation of 21 CFR 1307.31.  When six other church members tried to testify that they also grew the 435 marijuana plants and 3 peyote plants, that testimony was suppressed over my objections.   

Testimony of a federal Compassionate Use Program participant that she is provided with Marijuana for her medical use by the federal government was suppressed.   

All evidence of sincerity of religious establishment and exercise and any evidence of any threat to public health and safety caused by our religious work was suppressed.   

The jury was instructed to not consider any fact that did not prove that I grew marijuana and that growing the marijauana was a violation of federal law without exception. See - Case No. 94-50030-01 Western District of Arkansas, Honorable Franklin Waters; November 28, 29, 30, 1994.

I served my 53 months is federal prison, 48 months of supervised release, and at 60 years of age I am broke, unemployed for 3 years because of the conviction, and at my wits end.  If it weren't for the grace of God, I would not be here to place this complaint to you. 

So, last year 800,000 of my fellow churchpersons were arrested by federal and state police agencies and persecuted for growing, possesing or otherwise having a connection to marijuana.  Of course the federal drug law they claim to enforce provides for all kind of exemptions for manufacturing and using Schedule I drugs like marijuana and peyote, but the blind prohibition mentality of the DEA, police and lawyers has so far prevented any presentation of any religious establishment and exercise facts to any jury considering a violation of the marijuana laws. 

My case is the only case I know of that attempted that prior to the O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao Do Vegetal church victory on February 21, 2006 at the Supreme Court. 

So, where do we go from here?  I represent over 20 million Americans that have been persecuted for their connection to marijuana since federal prohibiiton initiated in 1937.  Yet, the DEA admits that there has been no recorded injury or death caused by marijuana in over 5000 years of recorded history.  (DEA Administrative Law Judge decision, 1988, Marijuana Rescheduling Petition.) 

Is it too soon to stop putting people in prison for using a herb that never injured a single human being? 

Is it too soon to stop burning witches for the Pope?

Is it too soon for the federal Department of Justice to actually tell the TRUTH about our churchs and the statutory protections that Congress has provided for their establishment and exercise?

So how do I file a more complete complaint with your office.  I am anxious, these past 14 years, to get this resolved in favor of Truth and Justice.  

Can you help me with that? 

One Love  revtombrown 

We're praying for you at The Green Earth Ministries, Reverend Tom. We'll see an end to the religious persecution SOON!