A Navy veteran was sentenced to three years in prison for unlawful possession of unregistered silencers that he argued were legal purchases of “solvent traps,” an accessory that can be fashioned into a suppressor.
U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, an appointee of President Joe Biden, handed down the sentence on April 13 after Hatchet Speed was convicted on three counts by a jury in January.
After joining the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, Speed started stockpiling at least 12 firearms and attempted to acquire silencers, according to court filings. When faced with approval delays, to avoid waiting, he purchased three solvent traps marketed as an accessory used for cleaning a gun barrel but which can also be modified by an end user to serve as a silencer….