Hobson McKown doesn't deny he's perpetually “investigating” alleged abuses by government officials.

But his self-assigned “tests” have him bumping heads with the law, most recently Wednesday when he was charged criminally for allegedly causing a ruckus while logging a firearm replica in at the lobby of the Butler County Courthouse and Government Center.

McKown, 28, of Centre County is charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.

Butler County Deputy Sheriff Mark Peffer, who filed the charges, said it's common for people who are armed to properly register their weapons at the building's security check point without problems.

But McKown, according to court records, didn't tell the deputies he was carrying a weapon on Feb. 12. When it was spotted in a holster, McKown “argued that he should be permitted to maintain possession of it while in the facility,” according to court records.

McKown never told the deputies his weapon was a pellet gun, “forcing the deputies and all others that viewed the pistol to react to it and treat it as a functional firearm.”

“It's the inconvenience and the alarm he caused to others that merit the charges,” Peffer said. “The rules prohibiting firearms in our courthouse and all courthouses are there to provide a safe environment for everyone who visits.”

McKown, who previously was convicted of a felony in his home county for an extremely parallel incident, has a different take on the Butler County incident.

He says he has been visiting the courthouse and government center regularly over the past few months to research law, look up real estate information and look for abuse by public officials.

McKown, who has a computer-related associate's degree, says he flips real estate for a living and has been wanting to branch out into Butler County.

During his visits, he acknowledges he has been checking in weapons at the front desk, knives mainly.

But on this day, he arrived around noon unarmed and left about an hour later to retrieve his 1911 pattern pistol. It's an airgun, but it's designed to look real.

McKown, who is not permitted to carry a firearm due to the bail conditions on his previous conviction, said he carries the air gun to stay in form for the real thing.

At the entrance, McKown said he passed through the security check point much without issue, locking the airgun in a designated locker.

But the deputies at the site apparently disagreed. He acknowledges talking with the deputies before going into the courthouse. When he was leaving, the deputies told him he would be charged and they kept his airgun.

Coincidentally, McKown was accompanied by a friend who he claims videotaped the entire exchange with his cellular telephone.

McKown alleges the whole incident is a travesty of justice. He claims the security checkpoints are illegal. They amount to warrantless searches and official oppression, he said.

He said he has tested his assertions in other counties, including Warren and Centre.

It was a district judge's office in Centre County where he ran into some issues. McKown said he reported to the office in September 2008 because he was charged with public drunkenness and was scheduled for a hearing.

He brought a loaded .308 caliber handgun, and he said he asked office staff where to locker it. He was arrested before he left and charged with, among other things, possession of a firearm in a court facility.

He took that allegation to a jury trial and was convicted of possession of a firearm without a license.

He had an unsuccessful appeal to the state's Superior Court, and he is waiting to hear if the state's Supreme Court will hear the case. As part of his sentence of two years of probation, officials reportedly confiscated 11 firearms from McKown.

As for the initial charge, the public drunk allegation?

“I was exonerated,” he said.

McKown, who has twice unsuccessfully run for district judge in other counties, already has attempted to take his argument against the Butler County case to the county commissioners this past Friday.

McKown attended the meeting but was refused the right to speak since he is not a resident of the county. This, he says, also is unlawful.

“I pay taxes to this county ... I'm paying a hotel occupancy tax,” he said.