Morgan Jones, said to be the captain of a local militia group, had a creative streak about him.

At his property in Lucinda, Clarion County, the 64-year-old man hosted what were called "flamethrower parties." He fashioned a device only 18 inches tall and 12 inches wide that could shoot a flame 40 feet.

But he also had a homemade cannon, made out of a vehicle's drive shaft, that he used to fire gasoline-filled beer cans; and what he called a lightning machine, which was a rod coiled with copper wire that when connected to a motor could shoot a bolt of "lightning" two stories to another rod at the top of his barn.

But none of those is the reason why Mr. Jones was in federal court yesterday for a detention hearing. Instead, he's charged with illegally selling an AK-47 to undercover officers investigating area militias.

After about an hour's worth of testimony, the hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Amy Reynolds Hay was continued until Monday afternoon.

Mr. Jones is one of four men who have been charged in separate but related investigations.

The case began in October 2006 in an effort to target militia groups in Pennsylvania with a propensity toward violence.

The two groups identified as part of the case by Special Agent Daniel Yocca were the 91st Warriors and the Brookville Tigers.

Mr. Jones and another defendant, Marvin E. Hall, are best friends, Mr. Yocca said, though Mr. Hall has denied being part of any militia. The men are, however, "self-proclaimed survivalists."

Mr. Yocca, who was not part of the investigation and did not go undercover, told the judge that Mr. Jones also had a 50-caliber weapon that he fired with an armor-piercing incendiary tracer round. It was shot into an oxy-acetylene filled tire to cause an explosion.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret E. Picking also admitted into evidence several booklets and documents related to the Pennsylvania Citizens Militia, which Mr. Yocca said is the umbrella organization over the 91st Warriors and Brookville Tigers.