TOWN OF GENEVA, Wis. — Town of Geneva clerk Michelle Baumeister detailed a pattern of misconduct from town supervisor Scott Williams in a restraining order application filed last month. A judge approved her request after a hearing on Monday.
Williams was served with a restraining order against Baumeister which will last through 2030. The court ordered Williams to avoid harassing or contacting Baumeister through that time, although the ruling noted the possibility of incidental contact due to their roles in town government.
Baumeister's sworn statement claimed Williams "has been using his position of authority, as well as his brutish manner, and threatening actions to intimidate me for over a year."
Her statement later said, "I simply cannot take it anymore. I refuse to continue to be his victim."
The statement details incidents between Baumeister and Williams dating back to April 2025. It documented multiple instances of Williams yelling at Baumeister inside of town hall, including one where Town of Geneva police chief Anthony Miceli escorted Williams out of the building.
Williams posted about the ruling on his Facebook page, in which he called the judge's action "a victory for the people."
Williams sat down with TMJ4 to further discuss the restraining order. He denied harassing Baumeister and said the restraining order will not affect his duties as town supervisor.
"The judge's order is so narrow that it doesn't change anything I've been doing," Williams told TMJ4. "I'm not banned from the town hall. I'm not restricted on how I can request records. I'm not limited to what I can do on Facebook. There's nothing that I'm allowed to do that I wasn't doing before."
Williams was elected to the town board in 2025 and is up for re-election in 2027. He was previously censured by other supervisors for his conduct before the restraining order ruling.
He told TMJ4 he has not decided whether to run again, but believes the ruling from the judge will not hurt his chances.
"The Town of Geneva, I've gained their trust," Williams said during his interview with TMJ4. "They can trust me to be their advocate and watchdog that I'm willing to go through all of this to fight for their right to know what's going on in their government."
Baumeister declined to interview with TMJ4, but her lawyer sent a statement in her name. In part, it said: "She does not want to be a victim; she wants to just have a normal life without an abusive coworker continuing to target her."
Baumeister's full statement in her restraining order request is below:
Williams' statement after the restraining order is below:
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