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GREENSBORO — A Greensboro man was arrested Friday on charges that he possessed a semi-automatic handgun at a demonstration outside of an abortion clinic in mid-October.

However, James Ronald Penn Jr. believes that he was within his rights and that authorities are unfairly trying to paint him in a negative light.

Penn, 26, of 933 Meadow Oak Drive, Apt. 108 , was charged with misdemeanor counts of possession of a firearm at a parade or demonstration, failing to store a firearm to protect a minor, and resisting a public officer. The charges stem from an investigation that began Oct. 17.

According to court records, Greensboro police Cpl. T.N. Miller spotted Penn with a semi-automatic handgun at a demonstration outside Piedmont Carolina Medical Clinic at 2425 Randleman Road.

Penn captured video of the incident on his cell phone and posted it on YouTube. The video begins with two Greensboro officers talking with a group of men carrying Bibles outside the clinic.

Penn walks up and is accused of trespassing. Miller then notices a firearm on Penn’s side, approaches him and asks for a permit, identification and his age.

Penn repeatedly denies the requests — telling Miller he has no right to the information — before the officers leave.

“This is not a stop-and-ID state, and we are not required to show ID (for an open carry),” Penn said Saturday after being released from jail on a $20,000 bond.

Detective S.K. Flowers said the possession charge relates specifically to laws that ban weapons at public demonstrations.

“In the mid- to late-1990s when there were several abortion-related deaths, several states banned weapons at demonstrations at abortion clinics. There were 8 to 10 protestors at this clinic.” Flowers said. “It speaks nothing to property lines, whether private or public property.”

Penn said he left the area about 45 minutes after the incident and later was told that officers had questioned the other men at the clinic about his identity.

He turned himself in for questioning and was later arrested.

A search warrant was executed at his residence last week. According to court documents, officers recovered from his home a .40-caliber handgun, an SKS assault rifle and loaded magazines, among other items. The charge of failure to secure a weapon stemmed from a fully loaded assault rifle found on a bedroom floor with the safety not engaged, Flowers said.

Penn disputes that, saying the safety was on and the gun wasn’t where his 8-month-old daughter could reach it.

Court records also indicate Penn is of “high interest to the FBI because of his alignment with violent demonstrators at abortion clinics.”

Penn adamantly denies that claim.

“That’s news to me,” he said. “I’m not a part of any anti-abortion movement, and I don’t know why they are trying to make this a federal issue.”

Flowers said that the FBI is looking at the case for possible federal violations and that a federal agent was present during the search.

A spokeswoman for the FBI in Charlotte would neither comment on the case nor confirm whether Penn was the subject of an investigation.

Penn said he had talked casually with the men in the anti-abortion group a few weeks before when he was in the area having his car repaired. He said he was in the area again on Oct. 17, saw police talking to the group and became curious about what was happening so he started taping.

“I thought it might escalate into something, and I wanted to get a record of it,” Penn said. “I carry (a handgun) openly, and I wasn’t trying to make any kind of stand.”

He said the case has been blown out of proportion.

“They are trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill,” Penn said.

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com