Brian Haas

bhaas@tennessean.com

A longtime firearms rights agitator appeared in court Friday to fight charges filed against him when police say he paraded around downtown Nashville in body armor with an AR-15 rifle.

But, despite a yearlong wait and what he says is proof that his actions were legal, he'll have to wait a bit longer.

Leonard Embody, once dubbed the "Radnor Lake Rambo" for a similar incident in the state park, is charged with unlawful possession of a prohibited weapon. Police say the AR-15 had what appeared to be a silencer attached to it.

Embody, 42, has been long known for his provocative actions that result in panicked calls to police, who in turn often find themselves stymied by his knowledge of firearms laws. But while he's escaped past stunts relatively unscathed, he says the latest charges have cost him his nursing job, his political aspirations and more.

"I lost my house, I lost my cars," Embody said Friday. "It's just a real nightmare."

On Friday, Criminal Court Judge Randall Wyatt was set to hear a motion to dismiss the case against Embody. But prosecutors got the hearing pushed back to Aug. 15.

It all goes back to July 29, 2013, when police got multiple calls that a man was walking around near the state Capitol in body armor, with an AR-15 slung over his shoulder. Police showed up and found Embody. According to court records, he refused to cooperate with them. Police said they found the AR-15 in a tightly molded case, unloaded, with no ammunition magazine. But they said the gun did have a silencer attached.

Embody at first tried to fight the charge on his own. But Wyatt ordered an attorney to represent him in his defense.

Embody said it's not hard to do since he has permission from the federal government not only to possess a silencer but to sell them as well.

"They've had the permission slip since they arrested me," he said.

As a result of his felony arrest, he said, he can't find a new job and had to declare bankruptcy. Although he picked up a petition to run for the Williamson County Commission, he said he figured he didn't have much of a chance at winning with a bankruptcy on his record.

Routine provocateur

Embody has routinely provoked police on firearms issues.

His first claim to fame (and the origin of his nickname) came in 2009, when he went to Radnor Lake dressed in camouflage, with a short-barreled, Hungarian AK-47-like rifle on his chest with a bullet in the chamber and 30 rounds in the magazine. He had painted the tip orange, a marking usually used to indicate that a gun is a toy.

He showed up three times at the park and was detained on the third visit by park rangers for two hours, who were confused at what to do. They let him go. Embody sued, unsuccessfully, saying his rights had been violated.

He sued again in 2010 when he was detained in Belle Meade. That time, he was detained after he was seen in reflective gear carrying a black-powder revolver down Belle Meade Boulevard.

But his provocative actions in Belle Meade got his handgun carry permit revoked later that year, after the state found he posed a "material likelihood of risk of harm to the public."

Again, he sued, unsuccessfully.

Reach Brian Haas at 615-726-8968 and on Twitter @brianhaas.