JACKSON, Mich. (AP) — Michigan police say a transgender, gay rights activist tried to fabricate a hate crime by setting his home on fire, but the man’s attorney is questioning the evidence. Attorney Daniel Barnett said the evidence is circumstantial and doesn’t provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Nikki Joly set the August 2017 fire that killed five pets at his home in Jackson. Phone records and witness statements show Joly was home around the time the fire was set, the report said. ”(Joly) was citizen of the year.”A local newspaper selected Joly as Jackson’s citizen of the year in 2018. Joly helped open the city’s first gay community center, organized its first gay pride festival and helped pass a nondiscrimination ordinance.

Source: Huffington Post February 27, 2019 18:22 UTC