Carrollton man charged with threatening Elton John

By Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

An anti-abortion activist and gubernatorial candidate from Carrollton who was arrested for allegedly making threats against Elton John is still being held in the Fulton County jail.

Neal Horsley was taken into custody Wednesday in Carrollton by members of the Atlanta police fugitive squad and U.S. Marshal's office, according to Carrollton police.

Horsley was booked into the Fulton County Jail, charged with terroristic threats, criminal defamation and using the Internet to disseminate threats. During a hearing Thursday morning at the jail, Magistrate Judge James Altman set bond for Horsley at $40,000 on all three charges.

As a condition of his bail, Horsley must remain at the home of his son, Nathanael Horsley of Gainesville, Altman said. In addition, there must be a land-line in the home.

The younger Horsley is acting as his father's attorney.

John, a part-time Atlantan, raised the ire of Horsley last month when he told an interviewer that he believed that Jesus was a homosexual.

Horsley, 65, responded with an Internet diatribe on "Why Elton John Must Die."

A video posted on YouTube shows Horsley protesting outside John's Peachtree Road condominium with a large sign proclaiming, "Elton John Must Die."

Horsley for several years has operated Web sites listing the names of doctors performing abortions and with links to Web cams showing patients entering abortion clinics.

A federal appeals court ruled in 2002 that a Web site run by Horsley condemning abortion doctors can be held liable in a civil suit because it amounted to illegal threats, not free speech.

Horsley has established a gubernatorial campaign office in Carrollton but has not yet filed any paperwork with the state Ethics Commission to run for governor in 2010.

--Staff writer Mashaun D. Simon contributed to this report.