A Texas city employee has accused Magnolia Mayor Matthew Dantzer of assault and unwanted sexual advances
Credit: City of Magnolia
NEED TO KNOW
- A Texas mayor is facing an assault charge after a staffer accused him of choking her while pregnant
- Magnolia Mayor Matthew Dantzer was arrested and charged on Tuesday, April 14, according to local news
- In a separate civil complaint, City Secretary Christian Gable claimed the mayor made sexual comments in the past before his alleged advances turned physical
A Texas mayor has been arrested on assault charges after reportedly grabbing a city staffer by the throat and making unwanted sexual advances.
Magnolia Mayor Matthew Dantzer was arrested on charges of felony assault, KPRC-TV, ABC 13, and KBTX reported Tuesday, April 14, citing the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Rangers.
When reached by phone, an employee at the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office confirmed that Dantzer is currently being held in the Montgomery County Jail, and that he is set to appear before a judge on Wednesday, April 14.
“We on behalf of Matthew Dantzer categorically deny the allegations,” Dantzer's attorney said in a statement to PEOPLE.
PEOPLE reached out to the Texas Department of Public Safety for comment on Dantzer's arrest, but did not immediately receive a response.
In addition to Dantzer's arrest, Gable filed a federal civil complaint against the City of Montgomery in April, alleging that she was five months pregnant when Dantzer's harassment escalated from years of inappropriate comments to physical assault.
In the complaint obtained by PEOPLE, Gable alleges that she and two other city employees were on a work trip to the Texas Municipal League’s Annual Conference in Fort Worth in late October 2025 when Dantzer offered to walk Gable back to her hotel after dinner so the other employees could stay and enjoy their evening out.
Because the walk would only be 12 minutes, she agreed, per the complaint.
“On the walk back, Mr. Dantzer began to make inappropriate and sexualized statements to Ms. Gable,” the complaint alleged.
The mayor allegedly made a comment about Gable’s pants being loose, which she explained were to accommodate her pregnancy.
“Mr. Dantzer responded: ‘You know what that means to me, right? They’re easy to pull down,’” he allegedly said, per the complaint. He also allegedly “repeatedly attempted to pull her pants down as they continued walking down the street.”
Once closer to the hotel, the complaint alleges that Dantzer asked Gable if her then-boyfriend, now fiancé, “knows how to handle” her because she is “crazy” before becoming physical once again.
“Mr. Dantzer suddenly—and violently—grabbed Ms. Gable’s throat and pinned her against a column while saying ‘you need to tell him to do it like this,’” the complaint alleged.
Gable's complaint claims that she was able to push him off of her and run into her hotel room.
The following morning, while still on the work trip, Gable reported the incident to the two staffers who were traveling with them, who told her to submit a formal complaint to the city of Montgomery, their employer, in writing as well as to the local police.
Gable alleges that around the time she filed her complaint with the city, Dantzer came into her office and “slammed his palms on her desk without exchanging so much as a greeting, and caused his entire body to hover inches from Ms. Gable’s face.”
Gable filed her own whistleblower complaint the following day, and learned “that the City would hire third-party investigators to conduct an investigation.”
She alleged that after, “her work environment [became] even more hostile in apparent retaliation.”
“In the months after Ms. Gable submitted her written complaint against Mr. Dantzer, she continued to work from the office as required. The City did not place Mr. Dantzer on administrative leave, move his (or Ms. Gable’s) office to a different location, or take any other safety precautions pending the investigation results,” the complaint alleged.
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After eventually going on maternity leave in February, she requested that she could work remotely during the duration of Dantzer’s term, which is set to end in May.
Gable was granted three weeks of maternity leave, followed by three weeks of remote work, but was then instructed to return to working in close proximity to Dantzer.
“Mr. Dantzer maintains his innocence and looks forward to the opportunity to defend himself in the appropriate legal process. Mr. Dantzer remains dedicated to faithfully serving the citizens of the City of Magnolia," the statement from Dantzer's attorney continued. "We respectfully ask for privacy and patience as this matter proceeds. No further comments will be made at this time out of respect for the ongoing investigation and all parties involved."
PEOPLE reached out to attorneys for Gable for comment.
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