Ted Nugent brought a firearm into the Michigan Capitol despite a ban, state police say
Michigan police are investigating whether rock musician and avid sportsman Ted Nugent brought a concealed firearm into the Michigan Capitol building Wednesday.
Nugent was at the statehouse Wednesday to testify at a joint committee hearing about the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, requesting accountability over DNR actions relating to hunting regulations.
When arriving, Nugent entered the building at the north entrance, a Michigan State Police spokesperson said in their statement.
"The weapons detection system functioned correctly and alerted to a possible weapon; however, the trooper staffing the entry point did not see the alert until after Mr. Nugent left the screening area," state police said.
"How did this happen?" state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) said in a video posted to Instagram. She was among the legislators attending the hearing that Nugent participated in.
Pohutsky said early in the proceedings, she was among those who realized Nugent was carrying a firearm at the time. She and others flagged the attention of the Capitol sergeant and the state police.
"We are still evaluating how the weapons detection alert was missed and will be following up to ensure this does not happen again," a statement from the Michigan State Police spokesperson said in response to the circumstances.
Nugent's arguments included what some hunters, anglers and residents consider to be overreach in the state's conservation laws.
The state Capitol has bans on open carry and concealed weapons, policies that went into effect in recent years. There are exceptions for on-duty law enforcement officers and legislators who have a concealed carry permit. Nugent would not have met either of those requirements as a citizen who was on site to testify.
Nothing was done during the meeting, she added.
"Upon completing his meeting, MSP personnel contacted Mr. Nugent and notified him of the weapons policy, and he complied," state police said.
"I don't think anything is going to be done about it, but it's obviously not acceptable," Pohutsky said after learning that the firearm actually was detected at the scanner check-in.
CBS News Detroit has reached out to Nugent's team for comment.
The above video originally aired on June 25.
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