Notice that the main defendants weren't acquitted; they had a hung jury. Meaning as little as one out of 12 jurors simply refused to convict.
It's a pretty clever loophole, though.
And notice this stirring defense:
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Michael Kennedy, who defended Lori Kahre, said the case turned on the notion that taxpayers could be wrong without being criminal. He was referring to the fact that his client, Lori Kahre, and other defendants had not paid taxes according to the market value of the precious metal content of the coins in which they were paid, as opposed to their face value. He conceded at trial that his client may owe federal taxes for her mistakes.
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Conceding taxes are owed, but that it was an honest mistake, is hardly a strong antitax defense.
And from the jury:
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Jurors got stuck on the question of whether the government had proved defendants intentionally violated tax law, according to David Ramirez, jury foreman.
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Doesn't seem like it was decided on tax grounds.