Police in North Carolina said the father of "American Idol" alum Kellie Pickler was arrested for allegedly assaulting a female companion with a steak knife.

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It's not the first time Clyde Raymond Pickler Jr. had a legal dust-up. His daughter discussed his jail time when she was an "Idol" finalist last year, CBS News said.

Stanly County, N.C., sheriff's deputies arrested the elder Pickler in Albemarle, N.C., on Feb. 7. Police said they charged him misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon, misdemeanor assault on a female and a misdemeanor charge of communicating threats.

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A trial date was set for Feb. 28.

Pickler was released from a Florida jail in May 2006 after serving a sentence for stabbing his neighbor in 2003.

Kellie Pickler's debut album, "Small Town Girl," released in late 2006, recently was certified as gold for selling 500,000 copies.