UPDATED 2:02 p.m. ET: TMZ reports that all charges against Stormy Daniels have been dropped. The Ohio law prohibiting nude or semi-nude performers from touching non-family members only applies to those who "regularly appear" at a club. Stormy was only a guest dancer.
Read the original post below.
Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who alleges Trump’s lawyer paid her $130,000 to keep quiet about an affair she had with the President in 2006, was arrested in Ohio on Wednesday night, TMZ reports. She was performing at Sirens, a strip club in Columbus, when she allowed someone in the crowd to touch her. Per Ohio law, only family members are allowed to touch a nude or semi-nude dancer.
The person Stormy touched was actually a Columbus police officer named Mary Prather. Police documents show that Stormy touched Prather’s butt and breasts and then put her own breasts in Prather’s face. As TMZ so eloquently puts it, it appears Stormy was “done in by motorboating.”
Stormy was released early on Thursday morning on a $6,000 bond. According to a tweet from Stormy’s laywer, Michael Avenatti, she has been charged with three misdemeanors, all of which Stormy will plead “not guilty to.”
My client @StormyDaniels will issue a plea of “Not Guilty” to the three misdemeanor charges.
Avenatti took to Twitter to respond to his client’s arrest and said the incident was “a setup and politically motivated.” He conceded that Stormy did allow herself to be touched, but it was in a “non-sexual manner.” He vowed to fight the “bogus charges,” even suggesting there are “higher priorities” at stake for the police.
Just rcvd word that my client @StormyDaniels was arrested in Columbus Ohio whole performing the same act she has performed across the nation at nearly a hundred strip clubs. This was a setup & politically motivated. It reeks of desperation. We will fight all bogus charges. #Basta
We expect her to be released on bail shortly. We also expect that she will be charged with a misdemeanor for allowing “touching.” We will vehemently contest all charges. #Basta
Avenatti also shared a statement from Stormy herself in which she apologized for not being able to go on with a scheduled show for Thursday night in Columbus.
Official Statement From @StormyDaniels: As a result of what happened last night, I will unfortunately be unable to go forward with tonight's scheduled performance. I deeply apologize to my fans in Columbus.
There were a few weeks earlier this year when it felt like Stormy Daniels and her lawyer had a monopoly on the news cycle. Her initial lawsuit against Trump was for not signing their initial "hush agreement," and she insisted she only wanted to speak out about her affair, and so was attempting to find a way that would legally protect her in doing so.
Since then, Stormy has also sued Trump for defamation after he called her a "con job." Her lawyer has also included new angles to his roundhouse, including the troubling report that Trump's lawyer received half a million dollars from Russians, some of which might have been a reimbursement for the $130,000 hush payment for Stormy.
