A man who went viral online for carrying an assault-style firearm in Kensington — and who was later accused of giving weapons to a man legally barred from having them — waived his right to a preliminary hearing on firearms charges Tuesday in exchange for reduced bail.
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In April, Kobe Artis, 24, of New Kensington, began appearing in Instagram and TikTok videos in which he walked around the neighborhood cracking jokes, brandishing high-powered guns, and espousing his opinions on the state’s firearms laws to people on the street.
The clips show the Western Pennsylvania man had a penchant for encouraging others to carry firearms. He wanted to “hand out [assault weapons] to every 18-year-old with an ID,” he said in one video, and in another, he posed alongside a young man holding a machine gun.
Prosecutorsin May accused Artis of giving firearms to a 34-year-old man who was prohibited from having them because of a felony conviction. He was charged with illegally selling firearms and other violations of the state’s gun transfer laws.
In court Tuesday, Artis wore a green T-shirt that had a graphic of two hands bound in shackles.
He told Municipal Court Judge Bradley K. Moss he understood that he was forgoing his right to a hearing at which prosecutors would have been required to show that there was sufficient evidence for the case to proceed.
During such a hearing, Artis’ lawyer, Elliot Marc Cohen, could have challenged prosecutors’ findings and argued for the case’s dismissal.
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Cohen did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.
In exchange for the waiving of the hearing, prosecutors agreed to Artis’ request to have his bail reduced from $1,000,000 to $350,000.
Artis, who is incarcerated at the Riverside Correctional Facility, is required to post 10% of that sum, or $35,000, to be released from custody while the case proceeds.
Assistant District Attorney Alyssa Amoroso said she was concerned that Artis had been soliciting donations for his release using his Instagram account, and that doing so constituted “illegal means” of raising such funds.
Artis’ Instagram page was not publicly active as of Tuesday.
Raising money for bail using social media is not illegal in Pennsylvania except in cases in which a judge orders that bail funds must come from legitimate sources like a documented job or bank account.
Moss, the judge, imposed such a restriction following Artis’ hearing, court records show.
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Artis is expected to appear in court for an arraignment on June 16.