HPD: No Crime Found in Gay-Mag Publisher's Claims

The article on Ellen Cohen that started it all has been pulled.

​After investigating a magazine publisher's claims that he was threatened by the head of the GLBT Political Caucus last week, Houston Police have determined no criminal activity occurred and have closed the case.

Caucus President Noel Freeman issued a statement saying, "I am very grateful to have been exonerated and thank my family, friends and supporters in the community who have stood by my side, defended my good name and believed that truth would eventually win out in the end. I thank Chief McClelland and his officers for their hard work and professionalism."

Michael Williams, who publishes abOUT magazine under the alias Cade Michals, had accused Freeman of threatening him after the publication ran a piece critical of Houston City Council candidate Ellen Cohen. The piece is no longer on the magazine's Web site.

Williams told Hair Balls, "I made the conscious decision on Friday to pull the Ellen Cohen story and anything related to it....There's no reason to play politics, we're not a political magazine."

Williams said he was surprised to hear that HPD closed the case, since no investigators contacted him.

"I'm the one that filed the complaint, I'm the complaining witness -- why wasn't I spoken to?" he said.

Frankly, the whole thing seems a little weird to us. Ah, politics.