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Thu, 26 Jun 2025 19:45:40 -0700
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Ted Nugent carried firearm into Michigan Capitol despite gun ban
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2025/06/26/ted-nugent-carried-concealed-weapon-pistol-into-michigan-capitol-despite-gun-ban/84376871007/
Ted Nugent carried firearm into Michigan Capitol despite gun ban, state police say
Portrait of Beth LeBlanc
Lansing — Conservative rocker Ted Nugent carried a concealed firearm into the state Capitol on Wednesday after Michigan State Police said they missed an alert
through their security system.
Nugent, who testified Wednesday morning in the House Appropriations room on the third floor of the Capitol, carried the weapon through the north entrance to the
Capitol without being stopped by state police, said Shanon Banner, a spokeswoman for the Michigan State Police.
A weapons detection device at that entrance alerted to a possible weapon, but "the trooper staffing the entry point did not see the alert until after Mr. Nugent
left the screening area," Bannon said.
After Nugent testified, state police personnel stationed in the Capitol spoke to him about the weapons ban and he complied, Banner said.
"We are still evaluating how the weapons detection alert was missed and will be following up to ensure this does not happen again," Banner said Thursday.
It's not clear whether Nugent immediately left the Capitol after being confronted by the state police.
Gongwer News Service, a Lansing political newsletter, first reported Nugent's carrying of the firearm into the Capitol.
State Rep. Laurie Pohutsky, D-Livonia, said she alerted Michigan State Police to Nugent having a concealed weapon along with other House Democrats during the
hearing, but they didn't address the problem until after.
Pohutsky said she's seeking clarity from the state police on what actually occurred since she said Col. James F. Grady II told her that the trooper was aware
Nugent had a gun and made a discretionary call to allow him in. Nugent does not fall under the limited exemptions in the Capitol firearm ban, Pohutsky said.
"We’re talking about Ted Nugent with a gun, but the issue is actually the policy not being enforced," Pohutsky said. "I don’t care if it's Ted Nugent or
someone that I bring in.”
The state Capitol has a concealed and open carry ban since 2023, implemented around the same time that officials installed pass through weapons detectors in the
building. The 2023 ban includes a carveout for current House and Senate lawmakers who have a concealed carry permit and on-duty law enforcement officers.
Earlier in the day on Thursday, Pohutsky posted her concerns about the breach of security protocol on social media to bring awareness to the issue.
"How did this happen?" Pohutsky asked. "We haven't gotten any answers. I don't think they're taking it seriously.
"It's obviously not acceptable," Pohutsky added later. "Folks who come to visit the Capitol should be safe. People who work in the Capitol should be safe."
Concerns over the presence of firearms at the Capitol arose about five years ago after an April 30, 2020, pandemic lockdown protest flooded into the state
Capitol with many of the demonstrators openly carrying firearms and trying to gain entrance to the chamber floor. Some men with rifles slung over their
shoulders stood in the Senate gallery, overlooking the senators.
The Michigan Capitol Commission banned open carry of firearms in 2021 and put further limitations on concealed weapons in 2023.
Nugent, an avid hunter and longtime critic of the state's natural resources agency, was in the Capitol Wednesday to testify against regulations and enforcement
carried out by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
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