A Douglas County judge Wednesday allowed a 36-year-old Kansas City, Mo., man to represent himself in an aggravated assault case in Lawrence in which he’s accused of threatening a woman with a tree branch on Feb. 21.

According to Lawrence police, Corey M. Martin was arrested after he was accused of speaking aggressively to a woman about 5:20 a.m. that day in the 1000 block of Massachusetts Street while holding a large tree branch in a threatening manner.

Martin refuted the charges in court Wednesday, saying he had picked up the branch for protection because he had been the victim of an assault earlier. He said he believed he should face only misdemeanor trespassing charges instead of the felony aggravated assault charge.

“I’d rather stand up for myself and tell what’s true,” said Martin, who had been represented by an appointed attorney.

District Judge Paula Martin said Corey Martin had the right to defend himself in court without an attorney, although she said she didn’t believe it was in his best interest because he was not familiar with court rules of evidence and procedure. The judge scheduled a preliminary hearing for March 22.