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UPDATED
Mel Gibson, 50, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving at 2:36 a.m. Friday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The actor-director was detained while driving along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, said Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the sheriff’s department. Gibson was booked and later released from custody.

“Right now, it’s an ongoing investigation,” Whitmore told E! News.

Gibson’s bail was set at $5,000, online records show.

A Yahoo News write-up reminds readers of Gibson’s “I’m reformed” antics while tub-thumping for his self-financed epic “The Passion of the Christ” in 2004.

TMZ has the whole story behind the alleged cover-up by the Sheriff’s Departrment regarding Gibson’s anti-Semitic tirade. Read it here.

Gibson’s public statement:

“After drinking alcohol on Thursday night, I did a number of things that were very wrong and for which I am ashamed. I drove a car when I should not have, and was stopped by the LA County Sheriffs. The arresting officer was just doing his job and I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any other person. I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested, and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable. I am deeply ashamed of everything I said. Also, I take this opportunity to apologize to the deputies involved for my belligerent behavior. They have always been there for me in my community and indeed probably saved me from myself. I disgraced myself and my family with my behavior and for that I am truly sorry. I have battled with the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse. I apologize for any behavior unbecoming of me in my inebriated state and have already taken necessary steps to ensure my return to health.”

Mel Gibson is also the number one search subject at Technorati this morning. They are tracking nearly 600 blog posts.

And Tony Pierce’s coverage over at LAist is bringing out a few nutballs, like Jodette Sayhoon, who writes:

Mel Gibson is the bravest man in America. The zionists jews accused him of anti-semitisim when he made a great movie about our prophet Jesus, and now they are accusing him again for saying the truth ‘The jews are responsible for all the wars in the world’.

And then there’s this coward who posts under a pseudonym (George Bush, ha, ha, funny, funny):

Jews are fuckin responsible for a lot of shit that happens in this world. and the muthafuckers who run those corporations, starting a war to profit from it. Fuck you USA, UK & Israel, Israel oh sorry.. theres no such place, its Palestine. Fuck them and fuck those who dont want peace.

Tabloid Baby quotes the arrest report, which cites that Gibson was toting a bottle of tequila while driving, and notes:

Tequila can be a wonderful thing, but consumed unwisely, it is the devil’s juice. It can safely be considered a drug– less a truth serum than a hallucinogen.

And though we do not endorse the 12-step program(ming), we do know that an excessive, binge on tequila can summon demons that a person may have dedicated his life to overcoming.

Considering Mel Gibson’s upbringing, controversy, religiosity, Catholic guilt and apparent inner rage, it is very possible that he did indeed come to his senses with a deep sense of embarrassment and shame.