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Ron White Investigated Over Cigar Incident

Posted May 7th 2009 11:23AM by TMZ Staff

Ron WhiteThey used to call him Tater Salad, but in North Dakota comedian Ron White now goes by another name -- suspect.

It's all over something White did with his cigar during a show in Bismarck -- he lit it. Apparently the city has an ordinance against smoking in public places, and when some 55-year-old spoiler of fun tipped off the cops about White's routine, they decided to investigate.

According to the Bismark Tribune, a plain clothed officer rolled over to one of White's shows to document the alleged law-breaking. The report says White took all of three puffs during the show.

Now, the cops have turned the report over to the city attorney, who will decide whether they want to pursue the case.

White faces a $500 fine -- which he could probably just rustle up from underneath his couch cushions.

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Tags: Bismark Tribune, BismarkTribune, comedian, red neck, RedNeck, ron white, RonWhite, smoking, smoking ban, SmokingBan

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(Page 3 of 3) Previous 15 Comments

31. I think it was Doug Stanhope who explains the "smoking allowed for stage performance" in his routine.
LONG LIVE TONY CLIFTON!

Posted at 7:16PM on May 7th 2009 by Tweeter

32. Sad.
Really sad.
Pathetic.
Juvenile.
Smokers pay heavy taxes to the point they OWN you, and this is how they are treated.
Next time you go to the ballpark, think of the taxes extricated from the smokers so that there can be such a nice place, and yet there is nowhere in the ballpark to smoke.

Posted at 11:58PM on May 7th 2009 by tanner

33. I say give this douchebag the electric chair.

Posted at 3:11AM on May 8th 2009 by Al

34. As someone else who lives in Bismarck, the large majority of us find this completely ridiculous! The man who wrote the letter must be living a life of hell now. Each person that purchased tickets for that show knows he smokes. Big deal. But the police had to follow up the letter or they'd be hearing it for not following a citizens complaint. The cops are not the ones to exactly blame here. Just the guy that wrote the letter. A 55 year old tattle tale. Very sad indeed. The hard part is knowing we have become a laughing stock now. And who knows what Larry the Cable Guy will say tomorrow night when he is here. And to the person trashing BISMARCK (that's how it's spelled), it's not as bad here as you describe. Without really giving the city a chance, you don't know what you are talking about.

Posted at 11:44AM on May 8th 2009 by ndcowgirl

35. Please, please, don't blame all North Dakotans for this, we don't all feel the way that this person does. We get such a bad name the way it is, and all it takes is some old snob that should have stayed away from the show in the first place.

Posted at 12:10PM on May 8th 2009 by Whatever!

36. I, too, live in ND. As ridiculous as the sting operation sounds, the PD was merely following up on a citizen's complaint. Most of us ND'rs think it was a waste of time on the PD's part, given the fact that all he did was sit through two shows and turn in a report. The citizen who ratted it out in the first place is the one who is feeling the backlash from outraged Bismarckers and ND'rs. What a way to make the news! Sign me, DISGUSTED
Ron White is awesome!!

Posted at 11:24PM on May 8th 2009 by also an ND resident

37. Thanks again my fellow north dakotans. For making the world believe even more that we are all a bunch of redneck hicks!! Seriously people...really??? Think maybe our plain clothed cops should be out looking for underage drinking/drunkdrivers/sex offenderds or hell anything else besides a "cigar offender".

Posted at 11:42PM on May 8th 2009 by disgusted in ND

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