Ted Nugent has told reporters that he was insulted that his concert at Fort Knox was canceled because of the comments he made about President Barack Obama. The commanders at Fort Knox canceled the Nugent portion of a concert schedule in June after he said that he would be ‘dead or in jail by this time next year’ if Obama was to be elected to a second term. His comments were made at a National Rifle Association meeting held recently. Nugent also said that he did not mean for his comments to come across as a threat to the president.
“To think that there’s a bureaucrat in the United States Army that would consider the use or abuse of First Amendment rights in determining who is going to perform at an Army base is an insult and defiles the sacrifices of those heroes who fought for the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights,” Nugent said.
Nugent claimed to have received support messages from troops and that the Secret Service talked with him about his comments and then closed the case.
“There is nothing in my spoken word or written word that could be even wildly considered by any stretch of the imagination to be a threat to anyone,” Nugent said.
When he was at the NRA convention, Nugent was asked to clarify his comments about the president. He said the following: “A whole bunch of us … believe … we are in danger of being improperly and criminally jailed – I mean criminally on the part of the government.”
Last week, Nugent pled guilty to illegally killing a black bear in Alaska and said that he was sorry for breaking the hunting laws of the state. Nugent said that he tells other hunters, “even when you are aghast at a maniac, inexplicable, illogical law, please abide by those laws at all costs.”
Nugent then said that being prosecuted because of breaking the law in U.S. District court was a result of a ‘witch hunt’ because he is an activist.
“We the people are turning up the heat,” he said. “And that’s why I’m being singled out by certain fish and game agencies and certain U.S. attorneys.”