Secret Service Drops Inquiry Into Ted Nugent
Nugent's recent comments are not the harshest he's has directed at Obama.
April 19, 2012 -- The Secret Service dropped thier inquiry into rocker Ted Nugent today after meeting with the controversial conservative prior his concert in Ardmore, Oklahoma this evening, ABC News confirmed.
The meeting, which, according to the Washington Post, Nugent described as a "good, solid, professional" visit, came in response to Nugent telling the audience at last weekend's National Rifle Association convention that President Obama and other members of "this vile, evil, America-hating administration," as he called it, were "criminals."
Nugent also said in his speech that conservatives need to "chop their heads off" and that he will "either be dead or in jail by this time next year" if Obama is re-elected.
But while these recent comments have sparked controversy, they are neither the first nor the harshest remarks the gun-loving rocker has spewed against the country's top Democrats.
During the 2008 presidential campaign, Nugent launched an even more direct attack at then-candidate Barack Obama, calling him a "piece of s**t."
"I told him to suck on my machine gun," Nugent said while brandishing two machine guns on stage at an August 2007 concert, according to Rolling Stone.
The rocker then took aim at Obama's Democratic primary rival Hillary Clinton, saying to his cheering concert-goers, "Hey Hillary, you might want to ride one of these into the sunset, you worthless b**ch."
During an interview with Phoenix-based radio host Mike Broomhead this February, Nugent blasted Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner as a "tax thief," called Attorney General Eric Holder an "American constitution criminal," and dubbed Obama an "anti-American monster."
After his comments at the NRA blew up online, Nugent doubled down on his outrage-inspiring remarks during an interview on the Dana Loesch radio show on Tuesday.
"Some power-abusing corrupt monsters in our federal government despise me because I have the audacity to speak the truth," Nugent said.
"I will stand by my speech," he continued. "It's about we the people taking back the American dream from the corrupt monsters in the federal government under this administration and the Communist czars he's appointed."
While Nugent has been unapologetic about his remarks, some Democrats have harshly condemned them.
"Romney surrogate Ted Nugent's comments about Pres. Obama are vile & beyond the pale—and the Romney campaign should denounce them immediately," Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz tweeted Monday.
Nugent, who endorsed presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney via twitter last month, directed his sharp tongue at Wasserman-Schultz Tuesday over the tweet, calling her a "brain dead soulless, heartless idiot."
"I couldn't be more proud that this soulless, heartless idiot feebly attempts to find fault with Ted Nugent," he said.
While Romney has not commented on the Nugent controversy, his spokeswoman Andrea Saul said in a statement Tuesday that "everyone needs to be civil."
"Divisive language is offensive no matter what side of the political aisle it comes from," Saul said.
White House spokesman Jay Carney also dismissed Nugent's remarks, telling reporters on Tuesday that they are just "noise."
"We can't as a general rule police the statements of every supporter," Carney said, when asked if Romney should publicly condemn Nugent. "I think best to just abide by the kind of standards of behavior and rhetoric yourself."
ABC News' Devin Dwyer contributed to this report.
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