LOS ANGELES – Ted Nugent said he was insulted by the cancellation of his planned concert at an Army post over his comments about President Barack Obama.

Commanders at the Fort Knox, Ky., post nixed Nugent’s segment of a June concert after the rocker and conservative activist said at a recent National Rifle Association meeting that he would be “dead or in jail by this time next year” if Obama is re-elected.

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Ted Nugent, a conservative activist whose recent remarks spurred a visit from the Secret Service, was removed from a list of performers for a Fort Knox, Ky., concert in June. The Associated Press

Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey, after renewing their vows. ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sheryl Crow

Nugent told The Associated Press this week that his words were not intended as a threat against 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 said he had received messages of support from troops and noted that the Secret Service had met with him and closed its case about the remarks.

“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.

Asked to clarify the remarks at the NRA convention, Nugent said: “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.”

Earlier in the week, Nugent pleaded guilty to transporting a black bear he illegally killed in Alaska, saying he was sorry for unwittingly violating the law.

He told the AP that he advises fellow hunters, “even when you are aghast at a maniac, inexplicable, illogical law, please abide by those laws at all costs.”

Nugent said the prosecution in U.S. District Court was the result of a “witch hunt” by federal officials over his activism.

“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.”

The AP was not successful in obtaining comment from Jack Schmidt, the assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted Nugent this week in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Carey, Cannon renew vows in year four

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon say “I do” — again.

A publicist for the pair says they renewed their vows Friday at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Spokeswoman Cindi Berger said the couple celebrated with an “intimate ceremony after a romantic dinner at the beautiful Jules Verne restaurant” just after midnight local time.

Carey, 42, and Cannon, 31, married in the Bahamas in 2008 after a whirlwind romance that began just months earlier. Carey gave birth to their twins, son and daughter Moroccan and Monroe, last April.

Cannon was hospitalized in January and later diagnosed with inflammation of the kidneys. He resigned from his New York City radio show in February to help his recovery. Earlier this month, he said he’d document his return to health on his website in a show called “NCredible Health Hustle.”

Sheryl Crow enjoys her run, baby, run

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Singer Sheryl Crow joined more than 30,000 runners in her first half-marathon, and she finished with a time of 1 hour, 59 minutes and 14 seconds at the St. Jude Country Music Half Marathon.

Crow was running to raise money for New Hope Academy, and she says she got plenty of support from people cheering the runners all along the course. She says she can really see how people get hooked on running marathons.

Ryan James, 19, a sophomore from Berry College’s cross country team, won the first marathon he entered, finishing a time of 2:32:50. Erin Sutton, 24, of Woodstock, Ga., also won her marathon debut with a time of 2:54:16.

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