Alray Nelson was ticketed on suspicion of false reporting to police, according to the Durango Herald.

The newspaper said Nelson, who is openly gay and Navajo, reported several bias-motivated threats against him, including notes left on his car, harassing text messages sent to his cell phone and harassing e-mails.

"During the course of our investigation, we determined that these incidents did not occur, and there is evidence to believe that Alray filed false reports with multiple law-enforcement agencies," Alex Hutchison, a detective with the Durango Police Department, told the newspaper.

"I only ask for forgiveness and I apologize for any decisions that I made that led to this point," Nelson said. "I'm going to grow up and move forward."

Nelson said he did get real threats when he was first elected and no one was there to help. He hopes the college administrators will listen and do a better job of protecting students.

"It was a call for help," Nelson said.

Hear more from Nelson in his own words on the Durango Herald website.