A single Instagram story, Snapchat clip, or Facebook photo showing a firearm can hand Davidson County prosecutors evidence for a weapons case. Metro Nashville detectives review public posts, and what looks like a harmless flex can support a felony charge when the person holding the gun is barred by law from having one. May & McKinney, PLLC, defends Nashville residents whose online activity has drawn firearm allegations. Find out more about our firm if a post has already prompted questions from law enforcement.
A photo or video can place a firearm in someone’s hands, tie a specific person to a specific gun, and fix a date and location. If the person shown has a prior felony conviction, that image can support a charge under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1307(b) for unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Depending on the earlier conviction, this runs from a Class C felony carrying three to fifteen years up to a Class B felony carrying eight to thirty years when the prior offense involved violence or drugs.
Common situations our attorneys see include a person on probation or parole posing with a gun, a minor displaying a handgun in violation of § 39-17-1319, someone tagging a location that later ties them to a recovered firearm, and captions or comments read as threats. Under § 39-16-517, a threat of mass violence sent through social media can itself be a felony. Posts that pair firearms with apparent drug activity can add a § 39-17-1324 charge for possessing a weapon during a dangerous felony, which brings a mandatory minimum time that must be served day for day.
Metro Nashville investigators collect public posts, obtain records from platforms through legal process, and rely on screenshots submitted by tipsters. A post that a user deleted can still surface through another person’s phone or a cached copy. Federal partners sometimes join these cases, since felon-in-possession conduct also violates 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), which can move a matter into federal court with its own sentencing rules.
Our attorneys question whether the object shown is actually a working firearm, whether the accused truly possessed it or only appeared near it, and whether the account belongs to the person charged. Shared logins, older photos reposted as if new, and realistic props all complicate the State’s story. We also review how officers obtained the material, since a search or a set of account records gathered without proper authorization may be challenged and kept out.
Privacy settings do not put a post beyond reach, and deleting content after contact from the police can raise separate concerns. Anyone with a record that limits gun ownership has reason to treat every image with care.
May & McKinney, PLLC, helps people in Nashville and Davidson County respond to firearm charges built on social media evidence. Call 615-256-7337 or contact us to go over your options.
