We almost forgot about when the "Motor City Madman" Ted Nugent -- known in more recent days simply as a madman -- was deputized by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Turns out, Nugent's still a "Special Deputy" to Arpaio, a sheriff's office spokesman confirms to New Times.
Nugent's been in the news recently for making really awkward, super
right-wing comments about President Obama and Democrats, saying in reference to the Dems that "we need to ride into that battlefield and chop
their heads off in November," adding that he'd be "dead or in jail by
this time next year" upon Obama's potential reelection.
Nugent had to meet with the Secret Service for the special brand of
jackassery he presented during a National Rifle Association meeting a
couple weeks ago, and the Army canceled a show he was supposed to
perform at Fort Knox in June.
Nugent's also expected to plead guilty to a crime today for illegally killing a black bear in Alaska while filming a TV show.
As part of the plea agreement, according to Reuters, Nugent will land on probation, will be banned from hunting in Alaska or on Forest Service land for a year, has to pay a fine, and film a public-service announcement about not breaking the law while hunting.
Nugent's last crimes came in 2010, when he violated a couple laws in California while deer hunting, losing his deer-hunting license and pleading guilty to deer baiting and not having a properly signed tag, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, Arpaio swore in Nugent as a "Special Deputy" in August 2010.
We've tried to get a precise definition of "Special Deputy" before -- as has Arpaio election foe Mike Stauffer -- but we were unsuccessful in that venture (no response from the sheriff's office).
"Special Deputy" status isn't permanent, we know, since the baller formerly known as Shaqtus, Shaquille O'Neal, was stripped of his status after Arpaio got upset that O'Neal dropped the n-bomb in his rap about his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant -- the "Kobe how my ass taste?" performance.
Still, after committing a few crimes and acting like a complete weirdo, Nugent's still "Special" to Sheriff Arpaio.