TED NUGENT: 'The 'Black Lives Matter' Movement Has Nothing To Do With Black Lives'

Outspoken conservative rocker Ted Nugent says that the "Black Lives Matter" movement "has nothing to do with black lives."

The "Black Lives Matter" movement was launched in the summer of 2013 by black organizers Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi after George Zimmerman was acquitted of the killing of Trayvon Martin. Following George Floyd's death in Minneapolis, the movement has gained even more attention.

In a recent interview with conservative author and podcast host David J. Harris Jr., Nugent insisted that "Black Lives Matter" is a Marxist, anti-police, radical organization that wants to tear down America, and invoked a debunked conspiracy theory that George Soros, the billionaire investor and philanthropist, is orchestrating and funding the protests over police killings of black people.

Ted said (see video below): "Nothing could be more anti-organic than the 'Black Lives Matter' movement.

"When they said 'hands up, don't shoot' in Ferguson, nobody's hands were up and nobody got shot with their hands up," he continued, referring to a phrase became a rallying cry for Ferguson, Missouri residents, who took to the streets in 2014 to protest the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old by a white police officer. "A bad guy was shot in self-defense by an officer who was about to have his weapon wrestled from his grip. And we all know, statistically — I studied this, 'cause I've been a sheriff deputy for 41 years; I've conducted federal raids with some good FBI and ATF, DEA and U.S. marshall agents. I've been in the belly of the life-and-death beast, kicking down doors at 4 a.m. to go gather up a murderer that some judge and prosecutor and parole board let out to murder again. So I have a perspective on this stuff that I don't think any citizens have.

"When you are in a struggle for your life by a savage, escalating, violent perpetrator, who would limit the tactical capabilities of the victim, especially a law enforcement victim, when he has a certain number of tactics he's trained to get home that night, to save his life, and, in the process, save the innocent lives that this violent maniac will certainly jeopardize and likely take?

"This isn't an opinion — I'm not giving you an opinion — I'm citing irrefutable evidence and statistics to support what happened," he added. "And the Soros, Marxist, America-hating, socialist, communist maniacs took advantage of that to perpetrate a lie… The media just loves to assist with any nasty lie that's about hating America and hating Republicans and hating conservatives and hating the Constitution and hating the concept of capitalism, where your effort, your ideas, your sacrifices and risks will determine your compensation. Anybody that hates that will take advantage of a situation when they know the media and Hollywood and academia and half the government will help fan the flames of that lie.

"Of course black lives matter when you take the words what they mean," Ted said. "Unfortunately, the 'Black Lives Matter' movement has nothing to do with black lives. It's a Marxist, anti-American… And I don't even… Anarchy — obviously, their modus operandi is anarchy, but there's something much deeper and more evil about them. They wanna dismantle the only quality of life that facilitates, encourages and challenges accomplishement, excellence, dreams, entrepreneurialism and anything that has to do with the American Dream.

"So I'm afraid that I would like to say the words 'Black Lives Matter' because I mean them, but when you indentify the movement, it's just the opposite of that statement."

A board member of the National Rifle Association, Nugent has drawn intense criticism for his controversial past remarks, including telling then-president Barack Obama to "suck on my machine gun." He also made inflammatory remarks about Hillary Clinton, calling her a "devilbitch" who "hates everything good about America."

In a lengthy Facebook post in 2016, Nugent said Obama and Clinton should be tried for treason and hanged over their handling of the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Last year, Nugent defended Donald Trump after the U.S. president was accused of making racist remarks about Democratic congresswomen from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Nugent and fellow Detroit-bred rocker Kid Rock got to spend some time in the Oval Office with Trump in April 2017. They were joined by Sarah Palin, the former Alaskan governor and GOP vice presidential nominee, who posted photos of the visit on social media the following morning. Nugent later told the Detroit Free Press that he and Kid Rock represent a salt-of-the-earth American demographic that helped Trump land the presidency.