Lower Providence Golf Employee Is Suing Sen. Anthony Williams For Defamation

LOWER PROVIDENCE, PA — A local golf shop employee is suing state Sen. Anthony Williams over allegations that the legislator made up a story about a racial slur used by the man as the catalyst behind a fight involving the employee and an aide and cousin to the senator.

Hunter Wagner filed his defamation suit against Williams on Sept. 14 at the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas. It alleges that the senator concocted a story about Wagner using a racial slur as the reason behind why Jonathan Williams, an aide and cousin to the senator, got into a physical altercation with Wagner back in November 2020 at The Club at Shannondell in the Audubon section of Lower Providence Township.

Wagner was working at the golf pro shop when the senator and some associates who had been playing a round of golf came inside to complain about the pace of play on the course, according to the complaint.

Jonathan Williams ended up punching Wagner numerous times during a physical altercation, the complaint says, actions that were captured on surveillance video, and which are the subject of a separate suit currently playing out against Jonathan Williams, who has also been charged criminally in connection with the incident.

The lawsuit says that never during the course of police interaction following the incident did the senator or anyone else in the group make reference to any racist remarks uttered by Wagner, and that three days later, Jonathan Williams against spoke to Lower Providence officers, at which time he admitted that he had been the aggressor.

"At this time, Jonathan Williams said nothing whatsoever about racist or insulting statements made to them by Plaintiff," the lawsuit states.

The suit goes on to state that after Sen. Williams gave statements to the media regarding the alleged racist remarks, the Lower Providence Police Department issued its own statement saying that they had no record of any such racist insults ever having been uttered by Wagner.

“Senator Williams concocted story revolved around the allegation that Plaintiff used derogatory racial terms during the conversation he had with Jonathan Williams who had reacted as a result of being called a racist term,” the lawsuit states. “The above ‘story’ is a complete fabrication, the Plaintiff never uttered such words and, until Senator Williams was portrayed in a less than favorable light in the press, no person was ever made aware by Senator Williams, or anyone in their golfing party, of such an accusation.”

The lawsuit says that the defendants, which also include Timothy Greene, a Collegeville resident who was in the golfing party that day, "knowingly and falsely had Plaintiff labeled a racist, one of the worst scarlet letters which can be attached to an individual in modern society."

"Senator Williams is not confused nor is he misinformed, he is well aware that he is lying about and simply is more concerned with deflecting bad publicity than what he is doing to a young man who did absolutely nothing wrong," the lawsuit states. "These knowingly false allegations will follow Plaintiff for the rest of his life as the articles relating [to] this will be available in an online medium, forever."

The suit contains claims of defamation, injurious falsehood, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Wagner seeks damages in excess of $50,000.

The suit was filed by attorney Nathan Schadler, of the Eagleville, Pa. firm Conway Schadler LLC.

Sen. Williams represents the 8th Senatorial District, which includes parts of Philadelphia and Delaware Counties.