Ted Nugent Won't Attend Back The Blue Rally

UPDATE 10 p.m.: "After being reminded of New York State’s quarantine orders and Nassau County’s protest protocols, Ted Nugent will no longer be attending tomorrow’s march in Eisenhower Park," Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said in a statement. "Congressman Clay Higgins is also being advised of New York State’s quarantine Executive Order. Nassau County will continue to protect our residents’ right to safe, peaceful protest as is guaranteed under the First Amendment of our Constitution. However, we won’t tolerate blatant violations of the Governor’s quarantine order for travelers from high-risk states, which is designed to protect the health and safety of Long Islanders. As I stated yesterday, while Nassau County stands by first amendment rights, the County does not condone hate-filled speech. Our Police Department is the finest in the Country and our officers deserve admiration in a setting that we can all be proud of."

MINEOLA, NY — Six Democratic Nassau County legislators released a joint statement denouncing the scheduled performance of Ted Nugent at an upcoming pro-police rally.

The "Back the Blue" rally, which is set to take place in Eisenhower Park Saturday afternoon, has scheduled a performance of the National Anthem by Nugent, a musician and outspoken conservative who has a record of allegations against him of racism, anti-Semitism and other controversial actions.

"During his life in the public eye, Ted Nugent has consistently espoused racist, misogynistic, homophobic, anti-Semitic and xenophobic bile," the legislators wrote in their statement. "The vitriol he espouses is an affront to the promise of 'liberty and justice for all' that is central to our nation's Pledge of Allegiance."

RELATED: Over 1,000 Attend 'Back The Blue' March In Wantagh: PHOTOS

"The Nassau County (Police Benevolent Association)'s embrace of Ted Nugent is a slap in the face to the nearly 1.4 million Nassau County residents that their members have taken an oath to serve and protect," the legislators wrote. "They must disavow this vile man immediately, disinvite him from Saturday's rally and apologize to Nassau County residents for their appalling lack of judgment."

The joint statement was signed by Minority Leader Kevan M. Abrahams of Freeport and legislators Siela A. Bynoe of Westbury, Carrié Solages of Valley Stream, Debra Mulé of Freeport, Ellen W. Birnbaum of Great Neck and Arnie Drucker of Plainview.

County Executive Laura Curran commented on the scheduled performance by Nugent in a Facebook post. "Our Police Department is the finest in the country," she wrote, "and our officers deserve admiration in a setting that we can all be proud of. There is no room for bigotry or bias, of any kind, in Nassau County."

The rally is sponsored by the nonprofit organization Law Enforcement Officers Weekend and has been promoted by the Nassau County PBA. It comes in response to activist calls to abolish or reduce funding for police departments and nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.

In a statement released Friday afternoon, the Nassau PBA said that the association was not involved in organizing the rally and that after learning Nugent's "long history of making hurtful and hateful comments," the association said it will not attend the demonstration if he is present.

"We do not and will not condone his remarks and views, and have advised the event’s organizers that we will not participate in or support any rally that he attends," wrote President of the Nassau County PBA James McDermott.

The Back the Blue rally is also set to feature Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA), who resigned from the Opelousas Police Department in 2007 after an internal investigation found that he had used "unnecessary force" against Andre Richard, an unarmed Black man and bystander. Higgins was also found to have made false statements during the investigation.

Black White Brown United Long Island is calling for a counter protest at the Back the Blue rally.

View this post on Instagram

JOIN US ON SATURDAY JULY 25th AS WE ATTEND A BLUE LIVES MATTER RALLY TO COUNTER PROTEST #blackwhitebrownunited #bwbu #longisland #protestli #protest #eisenhowerpark #protestlongisland
A post shared by BLACK WHITE BROWN UNITED (@li.bwbu) on Jul 22, 2020 at 1:38pm PDT