diff --git a/pelican/utils.py b/pelican/utils.py
index 5a7fbaaf..4fe9820f 100644
--- a/pelican/utils.py
+++ b/pelican/utils.py
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ def clean_output_dir(path):
     # remove all the existing content from the output folder
     try:
         shutil.rmtree(path)
-    except Exception as e:
+    except Exception:
         pass