UPDATED: Iowa paper reports Ted Nugent said, “There's a lot of white people in this crowd -- I like that!”

Written by Eric Hananoki

Published

This post has been updated with further information.

One of the scheduled speakers at Glenn Beck's 8-28 “reclaim the civil rights movement” rally recently reportedly told an audience that he “like[d]” them because there were “a lot of white people.”*

The Telegraph Herald reported earlier this month that musician and conservative activist Ted Nugent appeared at a show in Dubuque, Iowa, and told the crowd, “There's a lot of white people in this crowd -- I like that! (Dubuque) is a white town.” The Telegraph Herald added that “Nugent also pointed out at least one audience member and questioned his race.” The Iowa-based newspaper also slammed Nugent's remarks in an editorial, and noted that Nugent has a history of incendiary remarks.

According to Glenn Beck, Nugent is scheduled to appear at his 8-28 rally, which falls on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's “I have a dream” speech. Beck has repeatedly talked about his rally in civil rights terms, and reclaiming the movement.

Nugent's “pro-white” remark was applauded by the website of the white nationalist, “pro-White” The Political Cesspool radio program. Nugent actually appeared on the “pro-white” show in November 2008.

The Southern Poverty Law Center notes that the show's guest roster is frequently populated with a “Who's Who” of radical racists such as "white supremacist" Sam Dickson; "white supremacist" Paul Fromm; former Klan leader David Duke; and “neo-Nazi activist April Gaede.”

UPDATE 8/20: Dubuque365.com photographer Mark Dierker disputed the Telegraph Herald's Nugent quote, writing that “what I head [sic] him say in his opening monologue was this: 'Hey there sure are a lot of white people in this crowd. You need to do something about that.' He later said, heavy on the sarcasm, 'Dubuque is a white town.'”

*UPDATE 2: Mediaite's Tommy Christopher writes, “Nugent is no longer scheduled to appear at Glenn Beck's rally, but in this case, Media Matters can't claim credit. The Duge Nuge is booked at the Boise Knitting Factory on 8/28, a conflict that arose about a month ago (although, to be fair, this Facebook update appears to be the only news of the change)." The title of this post has been updated to reflect Nugent's cancellation.