Secret Service To Visit Ted Nugent Over Potential Presidential Threat
Apr. 18 2012, Published 5:00 a.m. ET
By Debbie Emery - RadarOnline.com Reporter
Right-wing rocker Ted Nugent could have gotten himself in hot water with his heated comments about the president during a National Rifle Association convention over the weekend, and now the outspoken conservative is expecting a visit from the secret service.
"I'll tell you this right now: If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year," Nugent told the audience during his controversial speech.
"Our president, and attorney general, our vice president, Hillary Clinton - they're criminals," the conservative gun advocate went on to say. "We're Americans because we defied the king... We are patriots, we are bravehearts. We need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November."
The speech was not taken lightly by the security officials assigned with keeping President Obama out of any danger, and agents will be talking to him on Thursday to ascertain whether Nugent's comments rise to the level of a threat against the president, reported Reuters.com.
Federal law prohibits "any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon" the president and successors to the presidency. A conviction can result in fines and up to five years in prison.
"We recognize people's rights of free speech, but we also have a responsibility and a duty to determine their intent," said secret service spokesman Brian Leary.
Despite the outcry over the potential national security breach, Nugent, who has endorsed Mitt Romney, is standing firmly by his comments. "They have a duty. I support them," Nugent said on a talk-radio show, according to Rolling Stone. "I've never threatened. I don't waste breath threatening."
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