An admitted militiaman got 41 guns and more than 100,000 rounds of ammunition back from the government Friday.
The guns were confiscated when Thomas Piatek and six other members of the Hutaree militia were arrested in 2009 on charges that they planned to kill police officers and overthrow the government. He was acquitted in March, when a federal judge, Victoria Roberts, found there was insufficient evidence in the case. Piatek and the others then petitioned to get their weapons back.
The implements of destructions — which included an AK-47, handguns, shotguns, crossbows and swords — required two trips to take home, according to TV station WLS.
When Piatek arrived to pick up his property from the Hammond, Ind., police station, he was already packing heat.
“Just a piece, you know, whatever," Piatek said, according to WLS. "You got a phone, keys, whatever. It ain't a thing with me."
Other members of the militia also got their guns back, but none had a collection to rival Piatek’s.
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Thomas Piatek even brought along a gun to pick up his guns. 'It ain't a thing with me,' he said.
Piatek also got back military helmets, bulletproof vests, $100 cash and his cell phone, the Detroit Free Press reports.
The judge let weapons charges stand against two members of the militia, including its leader, David Stone Sr. Both pleaded guilty to possessing a machine gun, a federal crime.
“This is a victory for the Constitution," Piatek's lawyer Arthur Weiss, who accompanied his client, said.