Did The NRA Pay For Nugent's Inflammatory Obama Attacks?

NugentTed Nugent may have been compensated by the National Rifle Association for incendiary comments he made at the 2012 NRA annual meeting, according to documents obtained by Media Matters.

At this year's convention Nugent accused President Obama of having a “vile, evil America-hating administration” that is “wiping its ass with the Constitution” while telling the crowd that “We need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November.” Nugent also claimed that “If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year.” Nugent's comments are reportedly being reviewed by the Secret Service.

According to a 2012 “report of the secretary” memo released to the annual meeting of NRA members detailing payments to board members in excess of $2,000, Nugent was paid $50,000 plus travel expenses for his presentation at the 2011 annual meeting:

The payment to Nugent by the NRA is well above the $35,000 “average fee” listed on his profile page with Celebrity Talent International, a booking agency for performers, speakers, sports figures and actors.

It is likely that Nugent, who is a member of the NRA Board and has appeared at the last eight NRA annual conventions (2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004), had a similar arrangement in place for this year's events.

In an interview yesterday with Dana Loesch, Nugent said “I would stand by my speech,” and claimed he was being attacked with the “Saul Alinsky Rules for Radicals playbook.”