Despite facing potential jail time, a Tennessee preacher who leads his church with the Pentecostal practice of snake-handling will continue with the ritual. Andrew Hamblin, the 22-year-old preacher, has 53 snakes, according to the Daily Mail.

“I’m willing to fight this, because here in the United States we’re supposed to be guaranteed our religious freedom under the first amendment of the constitution,” Hamblin told the Daily Telegraph. “I do feel it is an attack upon our religious freedom.”

He compared the ritual to the use of wine in Catholic masses.

Earlier this month, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency seized his snakes, charging him with illegal possession. Even though Hamblin has already appeared in court and could face up to a year in prison, he has continued to practice snake-handling thanks to congregants of the Tabernacle Church of God in La Follette sneaking in the reptiles.

A spokesperson with the agency said that it is addressing Hamblin’s violation of the law because it is a “public safety hazard,” not because of his religion. The presence of children at the services has also raised concerns (Hamblin said only adults are allowed to handle the animals).

Hamblin, who has been bitten before and lost feeling in his fist as a result, has vowed to continue, even as he’s set to appear again in court next month. If he’s ultimately sentenced, “I think that would set off such a blast” among his followers, he said.

The ritual stems from a handful of Gospel accounts calling on followers to “take up serpents” and has been practiced in parts of Appalachia since the early 1900s.