Federal authorities raided radio free brattleboro's office Wednesday morning, seizing the unlicensed station's equipment and turning its signal to static.

The 7 a.m. raid occurred when no one was in the downtown space, said Larry Bloch, one of the station's founders.

The action was executed by United States Marshals and the Federal Communications Commission, acting on a warrant issued by a Burlington federal judge. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Drescher requested the warrant on Tuesday.

Authorities has apparently obtained a key to enter the station, located in the Brooks House on Main Street. No one was arrested.

The 10-watt station has been broadcasting since 1998 without an FCC license. The FCC has been anxious to take the downtown-based station off the air since 2003.

Wednesday's raid sparked immediate outrage from rfb lawyer James Maxwell, who said the move deviated from the established court process that assured that equipment would not be seized. He vowed to fight the decision.

Rfb can request its equipment back and also contest the allegations made in the warrant request. Bloch estimated the equipment is worth between $15,000 and $20,000, though he had not yet made an official calculation.

"We're studying our options at this point," Maxwell said. "Obviously, we want the equipment back. We want the process that was established here."

Wednesday's action comes as rfb and the federal government are still locked in a court case, and before a judge has decided whether to make a ruling on the issue without a trial. Drescher has asked the judge to order rfb off the air, and the station is asking for more time, information and possibly a trial.

"Radio free brattleboro has been broadcasting without a license for (a while) and in violation of the Communications Act," Drescher said. "And we in this office are duty-bound to enforce the law and filing this forfeiture action is part of the law enforcement effort."

Rfb members maintain they have been given the right to broadcast by the community. The station's existence was endorsed by the majority of town voters in 2004 and the Brattleboro Selectboard, and rfb members have also gathered signatures from local citizens.

The station has pledged to step aside when a Brattleboro-based station headed by Vermont Earth Works goes on the air. It is unclear when that 100-watt station will hit the airwaves.

Rfb members also say that they wanted to be licensed by the FCC, but the agency isn't giving licenses to 10-watt stations.

Maxwell called Wednesday's move an "end run." He said Drescher should have allowed the court process to continue, and added that he shouldn't have gone through the Burlington court because the case is being heard in Brattleboro.

The FCC and rfb sued each other in March 2004. The FCC wanted rfb taken off the air immediately, and the station wanted to prevent them from doing that. Rfb eventually dropped its suit, Maxwell said, after being assured the government wouldn't seize any equipment at least until there's a hearing.

"I think it's also important to make clear that we will go to the (Brattleboro) district court and express our surprise and hope that the district court here will view this with as much astonishment as we do, because the government has essentially done (what lawyers call) 'judge shopping,'" Maxwell said.

Drescher said the Burlington court is part of Vermont's single federal court system, so it made sense to request the warrant there. Also, he said, he gave the judge the case's background and made clear that it is still pending in the Brattleboro branch.

Drescher also said he warned Maxwell that he may take more aggressive action. In an April 13 letter to Maxwell, the prosecutor wrote that he was recently assigned to the case and added that he intended to reverse the government's previous intentions of not seizing the equipment.

"Given rfb's continued unlicensed (and therefore illegal) operation, I write to notify rfb that the law enforcement intentions of the federal government have changed," he wrote. "The United States and the FCC are prepared to pursue other law enforcement remedies."

Brooks House resident Joe Dever noticed something going on in rfb's rented space Wednesday. He asked an official at the scene what was going on, but the official told him he couldn't comment.

When he figured out what was happening, Dever said, he ran back to his apartment and grabbed his camera. The pictures he shot show U.S. Marshals, FCC agents and members of the Brattleboro Police Department.

"The minute they saw that camera, they turned their heads," said Dever, who has been rfb's neighbor for four years.

Brattleboro Police Chief John Martin said the only thing his officers did was stand by in case an incident occurred. They weren't involved in the search warrant.

"The main thing for us is if there's something going on in our town, we want to make sure there are no problems," Martin said.

Bloch said he found out about the raid around 8 a.m., when an rfb deejay called him to ask why there was no signal. Bloch was scheduled to host his show, "Energy Matters," at 1 p.m. Wednesday, the first live show of the day.

The FCC's beef with rfb began in 2003, when it received two complaints that its broadcast was interfering with a Massachusetts station. The FCC shut down the station, but it returned shortly thereafter at 107.9 FM, an unfilled slot reserved for a community station.

Rfb allows anyone to become deejays and does not broadcast commercials. Vermont Earthworks was given the right to construct a station by the FCC in March; the organization says it will model itself after rfb.

Vermont Earthworks President Deb Forrett said Wednesday the station is coming closer to going live at 107.7 FM. She said organizers are fund-raising and have talked to a building owner about locating the station downtown. However, she said, the organization has yet to set a goal for a launch date.

"It's going really well," she said. "I guess I'm really shocked at the news."