Sentence:  During the Brown trial , however , the state 's most powerful Democratic newspaper , the Providence Daily Post , stated that Brown <WSD>was</WSD> a murderer , a man of blood , and that he and his associates , with the assistance of Republicans and Abolitionists , had plotted not only the liberation of the slaves but also the overthrow of state and federal governments . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  be identical to; be someone or something