 Shortly after the primary election, Williams made a series of politically unsavvy remarks in an interview published by a weekly online magazine devoted to Kentucky agricultural issues; among the gaffes were calling the state agricultural development board and long-time Kentucky Democratic Senator Wendell H. Ford "a bunch of damn liars".State Democratic chairman Jonathan Miller called Williams' statements "offensive" and said that several of the party's executive committee members desired to have Williams removed as the party's candidate.In June, Williams was arrested on misdemeanor charges of menacing, disorderly conduct, and harassment for allegedly threatening his niece, who was the city clerk of Glasgow, Kentucky, because she did not produce records he had requested under Kentucky's open records law.