Neal Horsley, 65, was arrested Wednesday in Carrollton, Ga., about 50 miles west of Atlanta. Although Atlanta Police Sgt. Curtis Davenport wouldn’t clarify who he is accused of threatening, Horsley’s son, Nathan, says he thinks the arrest stems from the YouTube video.
Horsley made the video in response to the very same Feb. 17 Parade interview. The story, titled “There’s A Lot Of Hate In The World,” included a quote from the openly gay singer regarding his take on Christianity.
"I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems. On the cross, he forgave the people who crucified him. Jesus wanted us to be loving and forgiving. I don't know what makes people so cruel."
The video features Horsley standing in front of a condominium building holding a large, red sign that says “Elton John Must Die” in all caps. Horsley claims that John owns a home on the 36 and 37 floors of the Atlanta building.
“We’re here today to remind Elton John that he has to die. He must die,” Horsley says in the video. "What Elton John has done is desecrated the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, blasphemed the Lord Jesus Christ," Horsley said.
The man cites a Bible verse and explains that he prays the singer repents because if John doesn’t “he’s going to spend eternity in hell.”
In addition to making terroristic threats, Horsley is also facing charges of criminal defamation and disseminating terroristic threats over the Internet. As of Thursday he was being held in Fulton County jail on $40,000 bond. In order to be released from the slammer, a judge says Horsley must pay 10 percent of his bond in cash and live with his son in a house with a phone landline.
Horsley’s YouTube video wraps up with a shot of a vehicle displaying graphic anti-abortion images. In the late 1990s he made a name of himself by setting up a Web site which Planned Parenthood officials called “a hit list for terrorists.” The site listed the name and addresses of doctors who performed abortions.
Although the state ethics commission has no record of Horsley’s campaign, he says he’s running in the 2010 governor’s race as the founder of the Creator’s Rights Party. In July 2008 he brought attention to his campaign by singing an anti-abortion song in downtown Carrollton while wearing a placard showing the head of an aborted fetus.
John's publicist, Fran Curtis, confirmed that John owns an Atlanta apartment. She had no further comment.
Click here for the Parade story.
Click here for the YouTube video.
Click here for the AP story.