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January 6 defendant asked a court if he could have some of his confiscated guns returned to him. - Lawyers for Charles Hand said he needs a gun to protect himself from wildlife, court documents show.
A January 6 defendant asked a court if he could have two of his confiscated guns back so he can kill snakes on his property, court documents seen by Insider show.
Lawyers for Charles Hand, of Butler, Georgia, made the request to the US District Court for the District of Columbia earlier this week, arguing that Hand needs "the protection of one or both firearms for his daily activities in the backcountry of rural Georgia."
The request cites an incident in Hand's backyard, where he encountered a snake and killed it with a shovel.
"Hand claims to need a firearm, in part, because he recently killed a Water Moccasin snake on his property with a shovel since no firearm was available," prosecutors wrote in another memo, seen by Insider.
Water moccasins, formally known as Cottonmouths, are venomous.
Hand and his wife, Mandy Robinson-Hand, were both charged with the same four misdemeanors after they were spotted amid a crowd of rioters fighting with a line of Metro DC Police on January 6, 2020.
They did not have any firearms on them at the time, although Hand had broken off a piece of metal fencing and placed it into the back pocket of his jeans, a criminal complaint said.
In March, Hand had his guns taken away from his home after a request from prosecutors to restrict his firearms possession was granted by a judge.
In the documents, Hand is asking for two guns: a single-shot .410 shotgun kept inside his work shed, and a .45 revolver kept inside his vehicle console.
Robinson-Hand did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on her husband's behalf.
More than 820 people have been arrested so far in connection with the attack, and more than 250 have pleaded guilty.