Nashville fairgrounds director says MLS stadium opponent made threat to 'slit my throat'

Nashville Fairgrounds Director Laura Womack notified Metro police and attorneys this month that Rick Williams, a well-known fairgrounds supporter and opponent of a plan to build a Major League Soccer stadium on the site, said he wants to "slit my throat."

Williams, leader of the group Save Our Fairgrounds, rejected the allegation.

Womack accused Williams of making the remark about her to a fairgrounds staff member at a May 17 public input meeting on plans to overhaul the fairgrounds with a new MLS stadium.

She said she notified police and Metro attorneys last week via email after the staff member relayed the threat to her.

"It was two statements made to a staff member of ours that he was so mad at me he wants to slit my throat," Womack said, later adding, "I did not hear it. it was not made to me. It was reported to me.

"I have documented it and will be following up on it, just to see what options are," she said, stressing that she wants to ensure fairgrounds meetings are respectful as well as safe. "It's a little unnerving, to say the least, to have someone make statements like that."

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Womack did not say what those options could be, calling it "premature," nor did she say whether she intends to pursue legal action or press charges.

"I'm not going to blow it out of proportion out of any stretch of the imagination, but I'm not going to be intimidated or bullied either," she said.

The allegations are the latest dust-up in the city's push to follow through with plans to build a $275 million Major League Soccer stadium at the 117-acre Nashville Fairgrounds — a project that remains contested by some ardent fairgrounds fans.

Police were called to a public meeting Tuesday night to settle a dispute between Metro fair board chairman Ned Horton and Shane Smiley, another fairgrounds backer.

Williams, a longtime conservative political operative in Metro politics, denied that he made the comment, saying he "in no way have I ever indicated any violence toward anybody or cutting anybody's throat or hurting anybody.

"We always maintain proper dignity, and we go to court to fight things legally or through the voting mechanism that's available. I in no way have ever threatened anybody."

Williams issued a written statement Thursday calling the allegations "a smear campaign" to undermine critics of the stadium plan. He said Womack "has received the utmost respect and professionalism from me and our board members since she took the position over a year ago."

"It is apparent the Fair Board leadership and the city administration is doing what it can to discredit the leaders of the opposition groups who want to stop the give away of land and move the MLS stadium to a more suitable property."

Womack said Wednesday she has not confronted Williams since she was told about the comment.

Womack, who was hired in 2016 to lead the fairgrounds, declined to provide to The Tennessean the email she said she sent to police and attorneys, citing attorney-client privilege because she said she was requesting legal advice.

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A spokeswoman for the Metro Nashville Police Department said the agency had not received a formal complaint from Womack.

Womack confirmed she inquired about police presence and protection for future fairgrounds meetings.

"We certainly will be following up moving forward, again just to keep a decorum and a sense of respect at our upcoming meetings," Womack said.

She called the incident an "unfortunate distraction" from what the fairgrounds staff and other stakeholders are trying to accomplish at the site.

"It is unnerving that it has dissolved to this type of behavior," Womack said. "Let's move forward. We're all trying to get to a point of consensus on these plans, and these are very unfortunate distractions."

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236, jgarrison@tennessean.com and on Twitter @joeygarrison.