Cache of Firearms at McClane Farmhouse (rifles/long guns — evidentiary cache)

A small, menacing cache of unspecified firearms — rifles and long guns of varying sizes and crude modification — produced by house occupants during a police encounter. The weapons lack clear make or markings on camera; officers and aides study their illegal barrel dimension and react with alarm. Characters recoil, point, and cite the guns as concrete proof of wrongdoing while children and adults crowd the tense doorway.

2 appearances

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S1E7 · The State Dinner

Force vs. Fragility: The Negotiation Decision

Weapons are described by advisers as evidence that the standoff is dangerous and an argument for force: the presence of rifles and long guns anchors the militarized advocates' claims and escalates perceived urgency in the room.

Before: In the possession of standoff participants at the farmhouse (offstage); discussed in briefings and cited by military advisers.

After: Undisturbed in the field at the time of the decision; their existence remains a factor driving policy but no raid has yet occurred.

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S1E7 · The State Dinner

Choosing Restraint: Bartlet Backs Negotiation

The militias' guns are invoked as the immediate physical threat that justifies urgency and possible force; they function narratively as the tangible reason Josh and military advisors argue for a rapid, forceful resolution.

Before: In the possession of the house occupants at the standoff location; referenced by advisers as present and dangerous.

After: Remain in narrative continuity as evidence for force, but their presence is not immediately acted upon in this scene due to the decision to negotiate.

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