Matthew 'Doc' Dantzer, the former mayor of Magnolia, Texas, pleaded guilty on October 2, 2025, to assaulting his pregnant secretary, Christian Gable, during a work conference in Fort Worth earlier that year. The attack involved choking Gable while attempting to pull her pants down. As part of his plea agreement, Dantzer received two years of deferred adjudication probation and was ordered to pay a $4,000 fine, perform community service, take a domestic violence class, refrain from drinking alcohol, and have no contact with the victim. Gable has filed lawsuits against both Dantzer and the City of Magnolia for harassment and retaliation following the incident.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Matthew 'Doc' Dantzer, the former mayor of Magnolia, Texas, pleaded guilty to assaulting his pregnant secretary, Christian Gable, at a work conference in Forth Worth on October 18, 2025. The incident occurred when Dantzer, who was wearing a stetson hat, grabbed Gable by the throat and tried to pull her pants down while she was five months pregnant. As a result of his guilty plea, Dantzer received two years of deferred adjudication probation on October 2, which means he will avoid a formal conviction if he successfully completes it. He must pay a $4,000 fine, perform community service, and take a domestic violence class. Additionally, Dantzer is banned from drinking alcohol and ordered to have no contact with Gable. Despite the resolution, Gable's fiancé, Bryan Emery, felt that the punishment was lenient.
Written for “Texas Mayor Sexual Misconduct” on 2026-10-07,
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No political leaning scored for article 64081 · logged 2026-10-07
A former Texas mayor has admitted to choking his pregnant secretary while trying to pull her pants down.
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mayor → admit → pants
Matthew 'Doc' Dantzer, 52, was the mayor of Magnolia when he attacked city secretary Christian Gable at a work conference in Forth Worth in October 2025.
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he → attack → October
Stetson hat-wearing Dantzer grabbed Gable, who was five months pregnant, by the throat and pinned her against a wall outside their hotel.
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who → wear → hotel
Dantzer pleaded guilty after being charged with assaulting a pregnant person and was given two years of deferred adjudication probation on October 2, ABC 13 reported.
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ABC → plead → October
He will escape a formal conviction if he successfully completes probation.
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he → escape → probation
He must also pay a $4,000 fine, perform community service and was ordered to have no contact with Gable.
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He → pay → Gable
Dantzer was also banned from drinking alcohol and has to take a domestic violence class.
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Dantzer → ban → class
'He got off pretty easy, that's how I feel about it,' he said.
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he → get → it
Matthew 'Doc' Dantzer, 52, was the mayor of Magnolia when he attacked city secretary Christian Gable
He must pay a $4,000 fine, perform community service and was ordered to have no contact with Gable
'
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He → attack → Gable
I would love for all of them, the city council, Magnolia, all of them to apologize publicly to her.
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all → love → her
What she has had to go through is not okay.
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had → go → What
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Gable and two other city employees have filed lawsuits against both the City of Magnolia and Dantzer over claims of harassment and retaliation.
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Gable → file → harassment
Dantzer's term as mayor ended in May.
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term → end → May
According to Gable, the incident unfolded as the pair were walking back from dinner.
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pair → accord → dinner
Dantzer allegedly began to make 'inappropriate and sexualized statements' towards her as they walked, the complaint said.
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complaint → begin → her
He commented on the 'loose' appearance of her pants and said they would be 'easy to pull down' after they 'get past the bump,' the lawsuit alleged.
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lawsuit → comment → bump
He then tried to remove her pants, but Gable yelled out before playing off the incident as a joke, the secretary claimed in the filing.
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secretary → try → filing
As they approached the hotel entrance, Dantzer allegedly asked the secretary if her boyfriend 'knows how to handle' her because she is 'crazy.
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she → approach → her
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Gable jokingly replied 'he's aware' but Dantzer 'suddenly - and violently - grabbed Ms Gable's throat and pinned her against a column,' the complaint said.
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complaint → reply → column
'You need to tell him to do it like this,' he said as he kept her pinned, Gable alleged in the court filing.
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Gable → need → filing
She managed to push him off of her and retreated to her room, claiming in her complaint that she received an apologetic text from Dantzer shortly after.
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she → manage → Dantzer
Gable reported the sexual assault to former Human Resources Director Kristy Powell the next morning and later filed a complaint with the city, the lawsuit said.
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lawsuit → report → city
She claims that Dantzer retaliated against her after she reported the alleged assault.
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she → claim → assault
Danzter would appear in Gable's office more frequently and would hover over her with his entire body, the complaint alleged.
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complaint → appear → body
Gable also said she was denied a request to work from home.
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she → say → home
Her lawsuit further alleges a history of sexual harassment by Dantzer, whom she claimed would introduce her to guests at City Hall as 'the City Sexetary' or 'my Sexetary.
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she → allege → Sexetary
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Danzter with his wife Rana Stockbrige, whom he has filed to divorce
Gable, who started working with Dantzer in 2021, said that the mayor was her neighbor and that he occasionally made inappropriate sexual jokes
Dantzer's attorney Kelly Albin argued in the motion that Gable has not established that he violated any laws or constitutional rights.
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he → file → laws
'The claims against Mayor Dantzer in his official capacity must be dismissed for failure to state a claim for relief because they are in effect claims against the City of Magnolia,' Albin wrote in the filing.
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Albin → dismiss → filing
The lawyer also asked the judge to halt the evidence-gathering phase of the lawsuit.
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lawyer → ask → lawsuit
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