The U.S. Fourth Circuit has Upheld Hatchet Speed’s Ridiculous Conviction for Possessing Three Firearm Silencers (which were actually Solvent Drip Containers).
The case originated with a search over January 6, so Speed should be pardoned anyway! But Speed’s case has been forgotten.
Hatchet Speed of Virginia holds several records among J6ers. He is the only J6er who was subjected to THREE (3) trials and the only remaining J6er whose J6 pardon has never been applied to his clearly related case outside Washington, D.C.
Now the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers federal courts in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia) has issued a disgraceful ruling against Speed, the Second Amendment, and common sense. The 4th Circuit has upheld Speed’s “silencer” conviction and ruled that the Second Amendment does not apply to silencer possession.
Speed’s case has profound impacts on the status of the Second Amendment and firearm regulation nationwide.
Prior to Speed’s case, Americans have been able to purchase gun-cleaning solvent containers which can be threaded onto the barrels of firearms to catch and filter gun-cleaning fluids. Several manufacturers make variations that resemble firearm silencers in appearance. A purchaser could, with enough tools and ingenuity, drill and convert such containers into firearm silencers. The BATFE under the Biden Administration issued an “open letter” proclaiming a new interpretation that many solvent traps qualify as “firearm silencers” in November 2023. This means that every similar device must be registered, or its possessor faces up to five years in federal prison.
Despite Hatchet Speed’s case, these solvent traps are still sold over the counter at gun stores and online. Untold thousands of them are certainly in people’s drawers and on people’s shelves today. Little do the owners know that they can now be imprisoned for up to five years under the Fourth Circuit’s new ruling.
Virginia software developer Hatchet Speed was targeted by the FBI in 2021 after he entered the US Capitol on January 6. The FBI planted an undercover agent in Speed’s midst who posed as a like-minded anti-vaxxer and patriot. The undercover FBI agent secretly recorded Speed chitchatting about approaching end-times and hypothetical future conflicts between Christians and Jews. The FBI agent prodded Speed with leading questions about the potential for Speed’s solvent traps to be converted into silencers in the event of a future collapse of society. And the trial court held that these secretly recorded remarks proved Speed’s intent to convert the objects into silencers in the future.
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A raid of Speed’s Virginia property in 2022 revealed the three solvent traps, still in their boxes with labels plainly saying the containers were gun cleaning accessories, in his storage unit. Speed was indicted in TWO districts (misdemeanor J6 charges in DC and “silencer” charges in the Eastern Dist. Of VA).
When Speed’s first jury in Virginia was hung regarding the bogus “silencer possession” case, and Speed refused to plead guilty to a J6 misdemeanor, federal prosecutors added an outrageous felony charge (“obstruction of an official proceeding”). (Note that later, in 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that such charges cannot be used against mere political demonstrators.)
Speed then had a SECOND trial on the (non)silencers in Richmond, and a trial in DC on the J6 case. Speed was ultimately convicted in both cases and given SEVEN years in prison (4 for the bogus “obstruction” case and 3 for the farcical (non)silencer-possession case).
On the night of Trump’s pardons of J6ers, the Bureau of Prisons released Speed. But later, Speed was told to report to U.S. Probation officers. His three-year “silencer” sentence was suddenly converted to 3 years of “supervised release” (without any court process).
Meanwhile, President Trump’s January 20, 2025 pardon of J6ers has been repeatedly held to apply to related firearm- and drug-possession cases involving OTHER J6ers. For example, Dan Wilson’s J6-related case of felon in possession of firearms was pardoned and dismissed; Elias Costianes’ possession of firearm/ammunition case was held to fall under the pardon; Jeremy Brown’s Florida prosecution for alleged possession of stolen grenades, unregistered rifle, and classified documents were covered by Trump’s J6 pardon; Daniel Ball’s illegal gun possession held to be covered by Trump’s pardon); Benjamin Martin (Gun possession by prohibited person held covered by the pardon); Peter Krill (conviction for possessing ammunition as a convicted felon covered by Trump’s pardon proclamation); Guy Reffitt (possession of firearm silencers held to be covered by the 1/20/25 pardon).
Speed’s lawyer, Roger Roots, admits he and Speed have gambled that they would win the silencer case on its merits, so they haven’t emphasized the subject of the pardon.
Both Roots and Speed were shocked when the 4th Circuit affirmed the silencer convictions.
“Hatchet is plainly innocent of these charges, so I haven’t been pushing the pardon issue,” says Roots. “Maybe that’s a mistake; I don’t know.”
Roots says Hatchet will seek a rehearing en banc by the entire Fourth Circuit. If denied, Hatchet intends to go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Speed remains a convicted felon under the law.
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