Two things can be true at once: a person can be doing something totally legal in public, and a crowd online can still scream “trespass!” like it’s a magic word.
That tension is exactly what Armed Attorneys hosts Richard Hayes and Edwin Walker tackle in their video about recent Nick Shirley footage tied to daycare locations and government funding questions.
Hayes and Walker frame it as a practical lesson for two groups that keep overlapping in the real world – gun owners and citizen reporters – because both groups end up in the same places: sidewalks, parking lots, lobbies, and public-facing businesses where emotions can escalate fast.
Their big point is simple, but it clears up a lot of confusion: trespass law is about notice and permission, while stand your ground is about self-defense and retreat. Those are different lanes, and mashing them together leads people straight into bad decisions.
The First Rule: Filming From Public Places Is Usually Legal
Early on, Edwin Walker lays down the cleanest baseline in the whole discussion: if you’re filming from a public street or sidewalk, that’s generally legal.
Walker says you can take pictures of a parking lot, record what’s visible to anybody who can stand there, and document things that are plainly in public view.
He ties it to a simple concept: expectation of privacy. If you’re out in public, courts usually treat it as zero expectation of privacy, and that’s why recording from public places is often protected.
Richard Hayes adds that this doesn’t just apply to sidewalks. He explains that in many states, even on private property, the law recognizes a kind of “public access” to places like a front door or a business entrance, because society expects people to be able to approach and knock.
Hayes uses everyday examples – solicitors, neighbors, even Girl Scouts selling cookies – to explain why the law often treats certain areas as open to the public unless you’ve been told otherwise.
That’s a key point people miss online. “Private property” doesn’t always mean “no one can step here,” especially when the property is set up for public interaction.
The Two Main Types Of Criminal Trespass
Hayes and Walker then break trespass into what they call two main categories, and this is where the conversation gets useful for anyone who carries a firearm or records in public.
Walker explains the first type as entering a location knowing entry is forbidden.
That includes situations where you force your way through a locked door, climb a fence, ignore posted signs, or otherwise enter when a reasonable person would know they weren’t allowed.
The second type, Walker says, is remaining after notice – meaning you were allowed to be there at first, but then you’re told to leave and you don’t.
Walker suggests the second scenario is where most people get jammed up, because it can start as a normal interaction and turn into an ego battle.
Hayes agrees and explains that in places like Texas – where he says they’re most familiar – there are multiple legal ways someone can be put on notice.
Signs, fences, locked doors, direct verbal warning – different states do it differently, but the core idea stays the same: once legal notice is given, your permission evaporates.
And if you hang around anyway, you’re handing the other side exactly what they need to justify a trespass complaint.
“Notice” Can Be A Sign, A Fence… Or Even Purple Paint
One of the more memorable parts of the Armed Attorneys discussion is when Edwin Walker talks about the “purple paint” rule.
Walker says around 20 states – including Texas – recognize purple paint marks on trees or posts as a legal form of trespass notice.
He even explains why purple: in his telling, it became the “next available bright color” that wasn’t already being used for other common markings, and it gradually turned into a kind of universal shorthand.
Walker says it’s so common that some paint manufacturers even sell a shade nicknamed “no hunting purple.”
This matters because it illustrates what Hayes and Walker keep warning about: notice isn’t always a big obvious sign screaming “NO TRESPASSING.”
Sometimes it’s a legal marker you’ll miss if you don’t know what you’re looking at, and if you miss it, “I didn’t know” won’t always save you.
That’s why their advice keeps coming back to the same theme: don’t assume you’re right just because you feel right.
The Big Trap: Staying After You’re Told To Leave
The Nick Shirley footage, according to Hayes and Walker, sparked a flood of questions because it showed moments where people were telling him to leave.
And the question becomes: who has authority to order someone off the property?
Walker explains it’s not only police. The property owner can do it. A person with apparent authority can do it too—like a manager, a security guard, or someone who clearly represents the property.
Hayes says there’s a weird belief floating around that only police can issue a trespass warning, and he calls that belief “100% false.”
That’s the kind of myth that gets people arrested. Not because they were trying to be criminals, but because they doubled down on a bad internet talking point instead of just walking away.
Hayes also makes a practical point for gun owners: if someone with authority tells you to leave, your best move is to leave immediately.
Not later. Not after you finish your sentence. Not after you get your “last shot” in the conversation.
Right away.
Because once you’re on notice, every extra second turns the situation from “annoying interaction” into “possible criminal trespass,” and nobody wins after that.
Random Strangers vs Real Authority
To keep it fair, Hayes and Walker also acknowledge a gray area: what if the person ordering you to leave is just a random passerby?
In the clip they reference, Hayes says it looked like Nick Shirley was in an area resembling an enclosed shopping center, and someone told him to leave, but it wasn’t clear that person had any authority.
Walker says that’s where things can get “iffy.”
If it’s a place open to the public, and a stranger is just expressing their opinion about filming, that doesn’t automatically equal legal notice.
But Hayes says the smart play is still caution. If there’s any reasonable sign that the person has authority – badge, security uniform, employee role – don’t gamble on being technically right.
Because being technically right while getting handcuffed is still a loss.
And Walker points out a moment in the Nick Shirley footage where police show up and say he has to leave, and he leaves. Hayes and Walker treat that as the model for how these interactions should go: calm, quick, done.
The Viral Confusion: Stand Your Ground Has Nothing To Do With Trespass
Then the Armed Attorneys segment takes a turn into what they clearly think is the most irresponsible part of the public debate.
Richard Hayes calls out a viral comment by Politico legal affairs reporter Josh Gerstein, who suggested that “amateur” door-knocking could “intersect” with robust stand your ground laws.
Hayes and Walker both hammer the same response: that’s not how stand your ground works.
Walker explains that stand your ground is about whether you have a legal duty to retreat before using force, assuming you’re in a place you’re legally allowed to be, you didn’t provoke the encounter, and you aren’t committing a separate crime at the moment you use force.
It’s not a permission slip to shoot someone for being annoying.
It’s not a trespass enforcement tool.
And it’s definitely not a rule that applies just because someone knocked on a door.
Hayes says plainly that if someone shot a person just for knocking, they’d likely go to prison for murder. He and Walker reference the fact that cases like that have happened, and that’s why this kind of public messaging is dangerous.
I agree with them on that point completely. When public figures casually mix self-defense language with everyday social conflict, it encourages the dumbest people on the internet to imagine they’re living in a movie.
And real life doesn’t grade on vibes. Real life grades on evidence, and prosecutors don’t care that your buddy in a comment section told you “stand your ground” means you don’t have to think.
What Citizen Reporters And Gun Owners Should Take From This
Hayes and Walker’s overall message isn’t “don’t film” and it isn’t “don’t ask questions.”
They actually seem to admire how easy it is to start doing citizen journalism – camera, public records, pointed questions – because it exposes how uncomfortable people get when public money is involved.
But they’re also saying: don’t let your mission turn into a trespass case, because that’s how you derail your own credibility in one afternoon.
If you’re filming from a sidewalk, Walker says you’re generally fine.
If you’re approaching a business that’s open to the public, Hayes explains you’re typically allowed to be there until you’re told otherwise.
But once a person with real authority says “leave,” the game is over. Leaving isn’t surrender. It’s strategy.
And for gun owners, the overlap is even sharper. Carrying doesn’t give you extra rights, it gives you extra responsibility. The last thing you want is to be the person trying to argue technicalities while you’re armed and adrenaline is high.
If Hayes and Walker are right about anything, it’s that small legal misunderstandings balloon into huge consequences fast, especially when the internet is cheering people on to “stand their ground” in situations where the law never meant that phrase to apply.
That’s how you go from “I’m just recording” to “I just caught a charge,” and nobody should want that.
Mark grew up in the heart of Texas, where tornadoes and extreme weather were a part of life. His early experiences sparked a fascination with emergency preparedness and homesteading. A father of three, Mark is dedicated to teaching families how to be self-sufficient, with a focus on food storage, DIY projects, and energy independence. His writing empowers everyday people to take small steps toward greater self-reliance without feeling overwhelmed.
