Gun-rights advocates march in Detroit to protest arrest

About 20 people, openly armed with rifles and handguns, marched along Mound Road in Detroit Sunday to show support for a man who says he was unlawfully arrested because city police officers are against open-carry laws.

Detroiter Elijah Woody, 24, said he was open carrying a pistol while walking on Hague near Beaubien on Sept. 13 when he stopped to talk with friends around 7 p.m. Police pulled up a short time later.

Woody said he was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon, a felony, and detained five days. He said his gun, a .40-caliber Glock 40, was in plain sight in a holster on his right hip when he was taken into custody.

A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 29.

"I was understandably disturbed about the arrest," said James Baker, 22, of the gun-rights group Hell's Saints, and the organizer of the march. "We support Elijah in fighting his unlawful arrest, and hope to bring awareness to the fact that it occurred."

The group of marchers — some packing sidearms, others carrying semi-automatic rifles — was made up of members of the Hell's Saints, of which Woody is a member, as well as some who described themselves as supporters of constitutional rights.

Baker said the Hell's Saints march the streets with their weapons visible, "hoping to incite conversation" about open carry, a rule of which many are unaware.

Michigan is one of several states where guns are allowed to be carried in public places without a permit.

Woody, who was on-hand for the march, said a visible weapon is, among other things, a deterrent for potential violence.

"I support open carry because if my gun isn't hidden, a person who might want to mess with you wouldn't if they've seen it," he said, standing with his attorney in the parking lot of the Family Dollar store at Mound and Outer Drive. "That's the choice they're going to make: 'Do I want to mess with you (after seeing a weapon)?'"

Attorney Jim Makowski, who is representing Woody in the case, said Sunday that he's still gathering information on the situation. One thing is clear, he said: Woody's arrest is further proof that city officers do not like the open-carry rule.

"They don't like open carry and they are going to abuse people who do," he said.

He said the department has a history of not respecting residents who choose to openly carry firearms. Efforts to reach Detroit Police Department officials for comment were unsuccessful Sunday.

"Bottom line is they're not doing anything illegal," Makowski said.

Contact Marlon A. Walker: 313-223-4531 or mwalker@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marlonawalker.