The attorneys for Kyle Rittenhouse, facing trial for killing two men and wounding another during unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin last August, told the judge overseeing the case that although Rittenhouse was legally too young to own the AR-15-style assault rifle, he was legally allowed to carry it in the streets of Kenosha because of Wisconsin’s hunting laws.

NBC News reports that Rittenhouse’s attorneys claim that because state hunting laws bar anyone 12 or under from carrying a weapon during hunting season, and other laws only prevent minors from openly carrying short-barrel rifles and shotguns, Rittenhouse was within his rights to have the assault-style rifle.

Rittenhouse was 17-years-old when he had a friend illegally purchase the weapon for him in Wisconsin.  He picked up the weapon from his friend and went on a vigilante operation to, he claims, protect businesses from crowds protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man shot in the back by a Kenosha police officer.  While in Kenosha, he shot three men, killing two.

The prosecutors in the case told the court that if Rittenhouse was in Wisconsin that night for a hunting expedition, he should be able to prove it.  “They can submit evidence that the defendant had a certificate to hunt and he was engaged in legal hunting on the streets of Kenosha that night,” Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger said, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Judge Bruce Schroeder denied a defense motion to drop the weapons possession charge against Rittenhouse, saying he would have to review the law before making a decision.  Rittenhouse is charged with homicide, attempted homicide and being a minor in possession of a firearm.