PITTSBURGH—A western Pennsylvania man's sentencing on charges that he had a concealed gun when FBI agents arrested him on charges of promoting terrorism on the Internet has been delayed because his attorney is contesting the government's version of his arrest.

The public defender for 23-year-old Emerson Begolly objects to government claims that Begolly reached for his gun and knowingly resisted FBI officers who arrested him suddenly in a parked car. The attorney, Marketa Sims, has argued that Begolly is autistic and was spooked by the agents but not attempting to harm them he was arrested in January 2011.

A federal judge has postponed Begolly's May 9 sentencing to give his attorney and the government more time to file written arguments about whether the Redbank Township man's actions when arrested should affect his eventual sentencing, now set for Nov. 14.