Two reporters banned from Detroit mayor's press conference

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s security detail barred two journalists from a speech he gave hours after his resignation, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Kilpatrick pleaded guilty Friday to obstruction of justice and agreed to step down from his post, capping a lengthy legal saga fueled by flirtatious text messages he exchanged with his chief of staff, parts of which the Free Press published.  According to the newspaper, Kilpatrick called a news conference several hours later, but Free Press reporter M.L. Elrick and WXYZ-TV reporter Steve Wilson were not allowed in.

Elrick said he was physically blocked from the room. Wilson told the paper that police labeled him a security threat.

“They claim there was an incident a few nights ago at the [mayor’s] mansion in which I pushed an officer. I wasn’t even at the [mayor’s] mansion,” Wilson said.