Phil Williams: In reporting on hate and extremism, ‘while the attacks are personal, so is the cause’

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Rarely in my nearly 40-year career as a journalist have I felt the target on my back as continuously and intensely as I have in the last 15 months.

Frankly, those are words that I hesitated to type. After all, we live in a time when some of the subjects of my investigations want me to feel that pressure. They want me to be intimidated. They want me to be afraid.

But you — as people who trust me to be a truth-teller in an age when truth can be elusive, as people I call my neighbors and friends — deserve to know what it is like to be in my shoes.

To be clear, this is not a plea for sympathy – far from it. I made a conscious decision to confront white supremacists, QAnon conspiracy theorists and other forms of political extremism. That was my choice — no one ordered me to do it — and I would make the same choice again because, in my view, it is important work for our democracy.

Bryan Staples/WTVF

Instead, I write in hopes that you may understand what is at stake for all of us — as Nashvillians, as Tennesseans, as Americans.

I write so that you will see me and other journalists as fellow human beings who strive every day to tell you about who’s pulling the levers of power in your government.

Just like you, we are not perfect.

But we do our best.

Local journalists like myself do this work because we care about our communities. We want the best for those cities and towns because they are the places where we have chosen to settle, where we go to church and synagogue, where we raise our own families.

Being a local journalist also brings its own unique vulnerabilities. After all, we do not parachute into your communities to do stories, then catch the next flight out of town.

In the end, for people with evil intentions, we are probably not that difficult to find — after all, we live our lives among the people we serve.

Yet, there are sinister forces at work in our society who want you to hate me. They want you to despise all journalists — because they would prefer to live in a world where there are no watchdogs to hold them accountable.

Late last year, when I exposed the role of white supremacists in the campaign for mayor in Franklin, Tennessee, the hate groups responded with a series of veiled threats against me.

One account lashed out on the Telegram messaging app, calling me “a lying sack of sh*t for the international jew media” and warning that the “Day of the Rope is real.”

That is a reference to the day predicted in the racist novel The Turner Diaries when journalists and other “race traitors” will be hanged.

“You better run… run… run,” the post added.

Their posts also mocked my late wife, who died in 2016 after losing a yearslong, sometimes-public battle with alcoholism.

Before the mayoral campaign was over, neo-Nazis plastered posters with my image around Franklin, under the headline: “Stop Corruption in Tennessee.”

Another white supremacist account also posted demands about what I would be required to include in my reporting about the hate groups.

“This is our only Warning,” the anonymous account declared, adding the tagline: “Always Watching, Always Listening, Always Near.”

Still, that did not deter me from my reporting.

The people of Franklin turned out at the polls in record numbers, and the mayoral candidate with white supremacist ties was resoundingly defeated.

Last December, as I walked Franklin’s Christmas parade with my NewsChannel 5 colleagues, residents repeatedly called out: “Thanks for saving our city.” And local civil leaders delivered “a very big thank you” card to my office.

That is why I do this work.

Then, this past spring and summer, there was a new round of attacks when my investigation exposed the QAnon-aligned assistant police chief in Millersville, Tennessee – and how his bizarre conspiracy theories had affected how Millersville police performed their duties.

In that case, fellow conspiracy theorists took to InfoWars, as well as far-right podcasts and social media, to falsely label me as either a pedophile or a “pedophile protector.”

They falsely suggested that I was part of an organized crime network.

They falsely claimed I might be involved in a homosexual affair with a former Nashville TV personality and may have covered up what they imagined might be the murder of his son.

One national QAnon-aligned figure, Craig (Sawman) Sawyer, even falsely hinted in a social-media video that I may have murdered my late wife — completely disregarding the truth of her unsuccessful battle against addiction.

Again, the story of Millersville’s “conspiracy cop” was a story that needed to be told – and so my investigation continued despite the malicious efforts to discredit me.

Recently, as I attended the first meeting of a newly elected Millersville City Commission, local residents wanted to shake my hand to thank me for what I had done for their town.

Now, people associated with the white Christian nationalists moving into Jackson County, Tennessee, have pulled out the playbook used by my critics in Franklin and Millersville.

None of the subjects of that reporting would agree to sit down and answer my questions directly.

Instead, on social media, they have accused me of lying about their beliefs – even though every single statement attributed to them was backed up by a supporting hyperlink – and questioned whether my reporting has been motivated by an anti-religious world view.

On the Sunday night before Christmas, critics of my reporting took to X to engage in what appears to have been an organized social-media attack by national far-right figures.

“Do you disclose your hatred for God and for conservative Americans – and your financial association with media organs that shares these hatred (sic) in all your articles?” asked one of the developers, Nate Fischer, in a post on X.

Sean Davis, co-founder and CEO of the Federalist, told his 528,000 followers that I was a “deranged and washed-up left-wing activist with a byline” and mockingly suggested it “sure would be a shame” if my TV station lost its FCC license.

Because we had flown a helicopter over the undeveloped land purchased in Jackson County, he falsely accused me of “stalking Christians and trespassing on their property.”

“If you are a Christian conservative with children, you should probably get a restraining order on Peeping Phil to protect your family,” Davis added, drawing responses like: “He looks and behaves like what I could imagine a pedo would.”

Soon, far-right provocateur Jack Posobiec – who, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, “has collaborated with white supremacists, neo-fascists and antisemites for years” – directed the ire of his three million X followers at me.

“Hard to say what @NC5PhilWilliams loves more… Spreading lies… Or hating Christians… Christmastime is very hard for him! (Much like telling the truth),” Posobiec posted.

Soon, the right-wing mob manipulated X’s Community Notes to make a false claim about my reporting – forcing me to shut down comments on X to stem the endless stream of hate. (The Community Note was later removed after I challenged it.)

One of Posobiec’s followers celebrated the social media mob with a crude reference to me being on the receiving end of a gang rape.

Christian nationalist William Wolfe — who has warned that “we are getting close” to a moment when Christians will need to “heed the call to arms” – joined the victory laps.

“The bold community journalist @NC5PhilWilliams has had himself quite a night,” Wolfe posted on X.

And another one of the developers on the Jackson County project, Josh Abbotoy – who had previously responded to my original request for comment with just five words, “lol you’re such a hack” – texted me just before 11 p.m. seemingly to gloat over the attack.

“Merry Christmas,” Abbotoy wrote.

Since he had tweeted just an hour before that my station “needs to put Peeping Phil out to pasture,” the season’s greetings seemed less than sincere.

Now, in response to my reporting about the influential hate conference that calls Tennessee its “home away from home,” people affiliated with the neo-Nazis in Franklin, Tennessee, have invoked my image, along with the message: “Stay tuned Tennessee.”

In such moments, I often think of one of my mentors, legendary Tennessean editor and publisher John Seigenthaler.

Taking a break from journalism as a young man, John worked for Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. In 1961, John was assigned to accompany the Freedom Riders as they traveled the Deep South to protest segregation of the region’s bus terminals.

In Montgomery, Alabama, an angry mob attacked the protesters. Rushing to the aid of one woman, John was himself beaten and knocked unconscious.

John’s commitment to confronting hate inspired me as a young journalist, and it continues to be a guiding force for me today.

These days, the faces and tactics have changed, but the hate remains the same.

Journalists like myself have a choice: surrender to the fascist mob that wants to intimidate the truth-tellers – or rededicate ourselves to doing what’s right no matter the cost.

For me, while the attacks are personal, so is the cause.

I choose not to bow to the pressure.

I choose not to be intimidated.

I choose not to be afraid.

Recently, I had a chance to chat with my friend, veteran journalist and journalism educator Al Tompkins, about these sorts of attacks. Al brings years of incredible experience to the conversation, along with the more objective insight of not being the one in the crosshairs.

“It is not unusual in 2024 for radicals to attack journalists by name,” Al said.

“It is unnerving and because you are a journalist, not a random person, you cannot counterattack in the same personal way.

“You are handcuffed by your profession’s ethical code and by your corporate lawyers from delving into the attacker’s personal and family life as they do yours.”

People like Craig Sawyer, Al noted, “communicate largely through social media and never sit down for an on-the-record conversation except for like-minded radicals.”

“These characters also have learned that when they can stir the public’s emotions, the public focuses on the anger/fear and suspend disbelief or rational inquiry,” he added.

“In my experience, when the messenger can raise emotions and fear, and repeat the messaging time and time again, the normal human reaction is to overreact.”

Another friend, veteran Denver investigative reporter Jeremy Jojola, has faced his own threats when reporting on hate groups and conspiracy theorists.

“Getting attacked by conspiracy theorists, especially public officials, can be an opportunity for journalists to share how journalism works. It can also be an opportunity to share how those in power react to being held accountable,” Jeremy noted.

“Journalists do not like to be part of the story, but sometimes we must speak out when our integrity is being questioned by people in power.”

As Al and I discussed, it can be confusing for you, the consumers of news, to know what to believe. After all, you are bombarded with voices — from both the right and left — that tell you to disregard reporting that attempts to hold their people accountable for their actions.

”The public rightfully and increasingly demands to know how journalists know what they know,” Al added.

“It is increasingly important to ‘show your work’ and give the public as much access to unedited, unredacted evidence that the reporter relied on to produce the report.”

For me, that has been a key part of how I have pursued these investigations.

When my work has been questioned, I have prepared detailed responses so that you can see the evidence for yourself and make up your own mind.

Related:

Police chief downplays conspiracy cop’s Covenant shooting claims. Watch, then decide for yourself

Christian nationalist C.Jay Engel doesn’t want you to believe me. You can see the evidence yourself.

All of that brings me to the following request.

If you value the importance of a free press, please do not forget that I and my colleagues are fellow human beings, doing our best under extraordinarily difficult conditions to expose those forces who want to compromise our democracy and want to spread hate.

If you appreciate my work — or the work of other journalists — please show your gratitude by publicly defending those of us who are engaged in this effort.

Every now and then, make sure that the journalists in your communities know that they are appreciated.

And if you have legitimate questions about our reporting, if you think I got something wrong, just ask. (Asking in kindness goes a long way.)

In return, I will continue to try to be transparent with you about what I am doing and why— as we travel down this sometimes-rocky road together.

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Do you have information that would help me with my investigation? Send me your tips: phil.williams@newschannel5.com

RELATED STORIES:

June 24, 2024: Data compiled by watchdog groups suggests that neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups have targeted the Volunteer State with racist flyers at an alarming rate in the past year, signaling a more brazen and calculated focus on the state. The statistics are alarming.

July 19, 2024: Standing on what is now the Diane Nash Plaza — named after the civil rights legend who came here to confront a Nashville mayor and a community’s racism — I decided to confront the hate that has once again reared its ugly head. Click here to watch my exchange.

Screengrab from group’s livestream

August 20, 2024: He warned me there would be consequences if I failed to comply with his demands to air a white-supremacist video. Then, nothing happened. And now that man faces his own consequences. Read more about Kai Liam Nix.

September 16, 2024: Millersville, Tennessee, is gaining national attention for an approach to governing that democracy advocates fear. Here, conspiracy theorists carry guns and badges, using their police powers to explore notions that are sometimes completely divorced from reality. You can find a series of stories here.

November 18, 2024: An exclusive NewsChannel 5 investigation has discovered that those Christian nationalists have set their sights on a remote Middle Tennessee county, hoping to attract hundreds, even thousands, of like-minded people from across the country as part of efforts, in the words of one activist, to “radicalize Main Street.” Find the full story here.

Bryan Staples/WTVF

November 25, 2024: As word spread across Jackson County, a gathering of friends quickly grew into an impromptu town hall. Some just came with questions — others, with deep concerns. Watch the full story.

December 2, 2024: The American Renaissance Conference — which calls Montgomery Bell State Park its “home away from home” — provides yet another example of the rise of hate and extremism in Tennessee. Watch what happened when Phil Williams went to this influential hate conference.

Mike Rose/WTVF

December 9, 2024: Podcaster C.Jay Engel thinks I’m part of a grand conspiracy, twisting his words and the views of his Christian nationalist partner Andrew Isker, apparently taking orders from what he calls “the American Regime.” Here are the facts.

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