Updated. Playing right into his alter-hero image, Dr. John McAfee managed to get arrested over the weekend but walked away smelling like roses. Charged in Henderson County, Tennessee for driving under the influence and possession of a handgun while intoxicated, the founder of security software business McAfee Antivirus appears nothing less than amused in his most recent mugshot (see below).

According to local reports, McAfee, currently a West Tennessee resident, was picked up on Highway 22. Henderson County Sheriff Brian Duke also confirmed McAfee’s arrest.

Never one to shy away from notoriety, McAfee posted on Facebook his response to The Register’s coverage of his weekend run-in with the law, defending his charge of being under the influence, saying:

“Yes, I was arrested while under the influence of Xanax. It was a brand new prescription received the same day of the arrest, and the physician neglected to warn me about driving while taking it.

“As to the weapons, I always carry them and, unless one is impaired, they are legal to possess and carry.”

Perhaps McAfee is loosely defining his “impaired” status, but Tennessee law isn’t much more helpful. After making several phone calls, speaking with several government employees and leaving several messages to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office, as well as a handful of Tennessee drug recovery treatment centers, I have yet to receive a definitive answer on whether or not it is illegal to carry a licensed firearm while under the influence of prescription psychotropics, in this case Xanax.

Update: John McAfee provided the following statement in an email to SiliconANGLE:

The day of my arrest I obtained a prescription for Xanax.  People are trying to kill me and while most people might sail through such a situation unperturbed, I myself at time’s feel stressed.  The Doctor said Xanax would calm me down. Unfortunately. It calmed me down too much.

The Police acted responsibly, politely and with restraint. At the sound of gunshots I naturally assumed that my ex wife had caught up with me and returned fire.  Who wouldn’t? The only casualty was a 50 mph speed limit sign the intervened between myself and presumed ex wife. I can’t shoot for shit on Xanax.

Who walks away from a shootout with the cops?

Dr. John McAfee’s mugshot and Xanex prescription

McAfee did more than carry his presumed licensed firearm. Upon being pulled over, McAfee claims (see update above) to have gotten into a shootout with the arresting officers, calling the incident “nothing remarkable” because no one was hit.

“The shootout with the police was highly exaggerated and in fact no one was even hit by a bullet, let alone harmed by one,” McAfee writes on his official Facebook Page. “The Police knew me and I don’t believe their hearts were truly in the shootout, as it is not included in the official report. When I ran out of ammunition, I surrendered quietly and the officers and myself had a cigarette together and joked about my bad aim.”

Maybe only celebrities get to walk away from shootouts alive, but given the hot-button topic of police brutality and race relations in the U.S. these recent months, the lighthearted stance McAfee and the press have taken to this incident is rather surprising.

SiliconANGLE has requested but has been unable to obtain a copy of the police report or the dashcam video, and has reached out to the arresting officer McAfee listed in his Facebook response. The number directs to a voicemail system that has not been set up, and according to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department, there are no officers there by the name provided by McAfee.

Update: SiliconANGLE spoke with the lead investigator at Henderson County’s Sheriff’s Department, who denies McAfee’s report of a shootout, saying “for about the hundredth time today there was not a shooting. We wouldn’t leave that out of a report.”

Update: SiliconANGLE has since spoken with Henderson County Sheriff Brian Duke who reiterated that no shots were fired during McAfee’s arrest, calling it a “standard DUI arrest.” When asked of the legality of using a firearm while under the influence of Xanax, Duke confirmed this could be an illegal act, but hinted that McAfee’s DUI was alcohol-related, not due to prescription drugs. We are still awaiting an official copy of the police report from Tennessee state patrol.

Nor one to shy away from guns, drugs or publicity, McAfee continues to share his perspective on current security trends in a column on SiliconANGLE, called Get McAfee’d. Possibly the most transparent security guru of our times, McAfee openly shares the inexhaustible list of drugs (and sex positions) he’s tried in his youth. It seems some habits never leave us.

We will continue to update this post as new information becomes available.

Screenshot via USA Today broadcast via YouTube