Ron Perleberg A # RON PERLEBERG, was the part time deputy reserve who heard Yorie's confession in the hospital room, coming out from major anethesia.   I was telling about Yori when he talked about the shooting. And he had mentioned that he had shot at that man in the white shirt by the Ram charger. And, then he turned to look at his dad. And, then Yori said that he was hit. And then--I'd mentioned that well, you have that cut under the chin, sideways cut on the chin, that explains how you got that cut. And, then he again mentioned to me. He said, I could have got it afterwards cause I was shot several times after laying on the ground.   As far as the notes, this is the last, the 16th is the last day I really talked to him in detail. Then he talked to the marshalls in the and our chief deputy. And, from then on he never said anything more. After that he was a lot more coherent.   I don't remember now. Yeah, there was some lawyers that come up. That's right. After he gave his statement though--on the 16th he just kind of quieted down. I think he started realizing that maybe I don't want to talk too much.   You know I don't recall that. They read him his rights. They made the arrest there. But, I don't recall any areignments going on in the hospital, no.   I would work normally from one o'clock to nine o'clock. One o'clock in the morning to nine o'clock in the morning.   The first night I went about ten o'clock (nine/ten o'clock) and started then. But once we got on the schedule, I just stayed on the one to nine.   No, tell the truth they never bothered him much at all, execpt they came up that day with our deputy Jack Miller. Otherwise they didn't really bother us at the hospital.   Nothing other than really that he was very devoted to his father. That was first with him.   No. No.   No. Just for testifying. That was it.   I sat through some of the trial.   That's tough. When we got down there--before we went to the trial, we went down and, we went through it all with the prosecutors. Lynn Crooks and Dennis Fisher. We went through a lot of it. And, they gave you instructions of court room procedure, and all this. I'd never been in a big trial before. And, so in a way I was nervous. And, it's differnt going in there you can confront the whole family more or less. To testify against a man that, you know, if he's found guilty he's going to be in prison. I kind of felt sad for him in a way because he had a wife and young children. And, so I could reflect on that. I though, well, I'll just tell what I know and that's it. As far as when the trial is over, I really didn't feel like we won, or anything. To me it was a bad situation all the way around. I had to feel sorry for Yori because, I knew he was caught-up in his father.   I'm sure Yori did just by me talking to him in the hospital. When he was partially sedated, he could could come out and tell that he did it. To me that's more honesty than when you're fully coherent and know how to cover it up.   Not really, never got bothered by anybody. It's just something they let go. It happened. It's over.   Not really. No. As far as the public opinion, I don't think there was really hard feelings one way or the other.   Not really. I guess the only thing that I thought was interesting was that each one of them had their own lawyer. Yori had a lawyer. Scott Fall had a lwyer. His mother had a lawyer.And, it got to be really time consuming that way, 'cause you had to relay your whole story to each one of them. And, I felt like after the second one, that this is getting tough because you could start to forget some of this after a while you keep telling it over and over again. But, anyway it didn't happen.   Oh, yes well that's a good lawyer. And, they were good lawyers. I think they were well represented.   I would say so yeah.   Well, you can recute the judge, but the story is still the same. Facts are facts. No. I guess when you called--can I remember all this. It was some years ago. But it does some back pretty good once you start talking about it. I can picture the whole thing again.   END ROD PERLEBBERG CREDITS with interviews of... Joan Kahl Yorie Kahl Lynn Crooks Toots Mathis Dennis Fisher John Noah Irv Nodland Bill Kennelly Prof. Ed Gran Jack McLamb Delores Everts Scarlet Skiftu Herman Widicker August Pankow Victor Seil Marlys Klimek Ron Perleberg Len Martin Brad Kapp Robert Holiday Tom Lee Ed Fitzpatrick Gene Nail Buford Terrell Marlene Gaysek Bob Ralston Darrel Graf Steve Schnabel Jack Swan Loreen Dyck Lorna/Loreen Mark Stagg Sheriff Ray Weatherby Jack Miller cinematography Tracy Adams Allison Hoffman Jeffrey F. Jackson production design Jim Haddon Peter Lloyd film editing Tracy Adams Martyn Hone Jeffrey F. Jackson original music by Tracy Adams sound department Tracy Adams Jeffrey F. Jackson stunts Rex Reddick produced by Jeffrey F. Jackson Angela Kaye writing by Jeffrey F. Jackson directed by Jeffrey F. Jackson CHRONOLOGY A timeline of the life of Gordon Kahl, from early childhood interests, to his marriage to Joan Kahl, his decorated military experience, his outspoken tax protest, the Medina shootout, and his unusual death in Arkansas in 1983. REVIEWS VARIETY /   Indie documaker Jeffrey F. Jackson sticks it to the IRS and the Feds in "Death & Taxes," a hard-hitting reinvestigation of the 1983 Gordon Kahl case, about which questions still linger. Jackson's unfazed, investigative reporting-style approach and inventive handling of familiar material make this a controversial item for fests and progressive webs. Non-U.S. viewers will also get a charge out of its conspiracy theme. read more CHRONICLES MAGAZINE /   Gordon Kahl was a simple farmer who became famous for not filing income tax returns. Imprisoned and hounded by IRS agents who never did prove he owed any amount of money, Kahl and his son were involved in a shootout with police. The son is still serving a prison sentence, but the father was surrounded and shot in Arkansas by police officers who mutilated and burned his body. read more GUNS & AMMO /   A new video documentary, Death & Taxes, details a case of government murderously out of control that was briefly mentioned in the October 1994 Guns & Ammo article "The Ugly Truth About Gun Control." Death & Taxes is the story of Gordon Kahl, a North Dakota farmer and decorated World War II veteran, and his apparent death at the hands of federal agents. read more

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This set of 6 DVD's comprises over 13 hours of uncut footage, including a 2+ hour prison interview with Yorie Kahl, and candid interviews with wife Joan Kahl. In this rich stockpile of research, you'll find many more threads than could reasonably be pursued in the final feature. A little-known fact regarding Death & Taxes is the surprising connection to Timothy McVeigh and the ATF / Oklahoma City Bombing. Here's a clip of Jackson sharing the story during a director's commentary on his film Postal Worker. The story of Gordon Kahl so captured the attention of mainstream America that it was turned into a highly-rated made-for-television movie titled In The Line of Duty - Manhunt In The Dakotas.

DEATH & TAXES is the story of Gordon Kahl, a North Dakota farmer who became America's "most-wanted" fugitive. How had a WWII war hero become the target of one of the largest manhunts in FBI history?

Was Kahl a racist, gun-toting fanatic? Or a victim of an IRS policy of harassing vocal tax protestors into silence to keep the rest of us intimidated? Did Bill Clinton conspire to cover-up the torture and execution of Gordon Kahl in Arkansas? Did federal agents mutilate and burn the body to cover-up the murder of the wrong man? DEATH & TAXES follows the trail of Gordon Kahl as his body is exhumed for a new autopsy. Building on newsreel clips covering two fiery shootouts and hundreds of interviews -- with IRS agents and federal prosecutors as well as Kahl's family and supporters -- D&T explores the myths and controversies surrounding a man who dared to challenge the federal income tax system. Some revile Kahl as a cop killer. Others revere him as an American patriot. Which was he?