Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
The latest case against Leonard Embody, a Second Amendment rights agitator once dubbed the "Radnor Lake Rambo," is falling apart.
Embody has long been a thorn in the side of Nashville-area authorities, pushing the boundaries of state and federal law by parading around town with rifles and pistols in plain view. And every time, he's managed to escape conviction.
Embody, 42, appeared in court Friday to ask Criminal Court Judge Randall Wyatt to dismiss a charge of unlawful possession of a prohibited weapon. He was charged July 29, 2013, after he walked around downtown Nashville in body armor with an AR-15 rifle strapped to his back. The rifle had a silencer attached to it, which is what police based the charge on.
Embody has maintained that he had a federal permit for the silencer. On Friday, Metro police Sgt. Mark Woodfin admitted that officers found the permit when they cracked open his gun case shortly after he was arrested.
"Mr. Embody did have a legal right to have that weapon and that silencer," said Embody's attorney, David Collins. "Simply, there is no case to prosecute here."
Assistant District Attorney General Chad Butler argued that the case should proceed because Embody ignored requests by police for documentation about his silencer. And he asked Wyatt to force Embody to forfeit the AR-15 and silencer even if the charge is dismissed.
"There was no legitimate purpose to him walking around downtown, scaring people," Butler said.
Embody has long been known for his provocative actions involving guns and then filing lawsuits afterward. He was once dubbed the "Radnor Lake Rambo" for walking around the state park with an AK-47-like pistol and was stopped by police in Belle Meade for walking down the road with a revolver. In each case, he sued, alleging his rights were violated. Each time, he lost.
On the stand on Friday, he indicated he intended to continue that tactic.
"I will be filing a federal lawsuit against those officers," he said, before his attorney cut him off.
Wyatt seemed skeptical of allowing the charge to stand.
"That's somewhat questionable," he said, adding that because Embody had a federal permit, the silencer "was not an unlawful weapon."
Wyatt said he will rule on the matter in the next week.
But Embody's actions are taking a toll. First, he lost his handgun carry permit, after the state found he posed a "material likelihood of risk of harm to the public" following the 2009 Belle Meade incident. He said the charge in Nashville led him to declare bankruptcy and to lose his house as well.
When asked before Friday's hearing if those losses meant he might reconsider his provocative actions, he said, "No."
"At this point, I've lost everything," Embody said. "What else have I got to lose?"