Man who argued religious objection to tax filing found guilty

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- U.S. District Chief Judge Michael W. Mosman has found an Oregon man guilty of four counts of willfully failing to file tax returns during an unusual second trial.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports 55-year-old Michael Bowman of Columbia City called in to the Monday hearing and blamed the judge for keeping him from using his “sincerely held religious belief’’ as a viable defense to whether he voluntarily and intentionally broke the law.

Bowman plans to appeal.

Monday’s bench trial followed a mistrial declared in August, when a federal jury couldn’t reach consensus in the case.