Man’s six-inch Master Sword lands him in jail for carrying blade in public
A UK man has been sentenced to four months in prison for carrying a six-inch replica of Link’s Master Sword from The Legend of Zelda.
On July 2, 2024, Warwickshire Police shared on its website that 48-Year-Old Anthony Bray was arrested on June 8 after CCTV operators warned authorities about the knife.
Bray approached the officers with the item in his hand and was arrested for carrying the blade. The man said it was a “fidget toy” but it was still considered a weapon by the police.
It wasn’t just any regular knife, however, as it was a sheathed replica of the Master Sword used by Link in The Legend of Zelda series.
“Despite admitting that it could be perceived as threatening if someone else saw it, Bray insisted during his interview that he would not have used it as a weapon,” the report states.
The man was sentenced to four months in prison on June 28, and has to pay a “victims’ surcharge” of 154 pounds or about $196 USD.
Sgt Spellman of the Warwickshire Patrol Investigations Unit issued a statement alongside the news.
“We take a zero tolerance to bladed articles in public, and Bray has fallen afoul of this,” he said.
“It is possible to find fidget toys that aren’t six-inch blades. It is possible not to walk down the street holding them out in front of you. With a bit more self-awareness, Bray could have avoided contact with us completely.”
This isn’t the first time police were involved in an incident involving a video game prop, either. Back in March 2024, the New York Police Department posted on X that they arrested a man with a gun… only to be dragged by users identifying it as a Final Fantasy sword prop.