Stormy Daniels was arrested at an Ohio strip club overnight for allegedly grabbing the backside of an undercover officer. Touching between patrons and performers in sexually-oriented businesses in Ohio is outlawed
Stormy Daniels looked less than pleased in her mugshot after she was booked for allegedly grabbing an undercover cop’s backside at a strip club overnight.
The lawyer for the porn star who is embroiled in a legal battle with President Trump claims her arrest was a ‘politically motivated sting’.
The 39-year-old was booked on a charge that outlaws touching between patrons and performers at sexually-oriented businesses.
There’s still some confusion about what exactly happened inside the Sirens Gentleman’s Club in Columbus, Ohio last night.
Cops say Daniels grabbed an undercover officer’s backside while performing in the club, but her lawyer says that she was arrested for allowing a customer to touch her ‘in a non sexual manner!’
Stormy Daniels was arrested at a strip club in Columbus, Ohio, in the early hours of Thursday morning before being filmed as she was walked into jail around 4.30am
Daniels has been charged with three counts of touching a patron in a sexually-oriented business and is due to be arraigned in court on Friday
Video from local station 10TV showed Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, being marched into Jackson Pike Correctional Facility around 4.30am.
Reporter Tino Ramos said she refused to comment when asked.
Avenatti blasted the arrest as a ‘politically motivated sting’ and a ‘ridiculous use of [police] resources.’
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has accused President Trump of paying her hush money during the 2016 presidential campaign to cover up an affair (file pics)
Ohio passed a law in 2007 which prohibits patrons touching performers at a sexually-oriented business anywhere on the premises or in the parking lot, or a performer touching a patron.
Daniels was arrested by Columbus Police and charged with three counts of ‘Illegally Operating Sexually Oriented Business – Employee Knowingly Touch Any Patron,’ according to online court records.
She is scheduled to be arraigned in Franklin Municipal Court on Friday morning.
She was arrested after a customer touched her in a non sexual way in what her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, says was a ‘sting’
Avenatti believes her arrest was purely political and said they would fight any bogus charges, though she has only received a misdemeanor
On Twitter, Avenatti said: ‘My client Stormy Daniels was arrested in Columbus, Ohio, while performing the same act she has performed across the nation at nearly a hundred clubs.
‘This was a setup and politically motivated. It reeks of desperation. We will fight all bogus charges.’
Columbus police have not confirmed any arrest, and neither have Sirens Gentlemen’s Club.
Avenatti told DailyMail.com that Daniels had been performing on stage when she was arrested.
‘A customer touched her in a non-sexual manner and she was subsequently arrested for allowing the customer to touch her in a non-sexual manner,’ he said.
A spokesperson for the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department told CBS that as of early Thursday morning, Daniels was not being held there.
The high-powered attorney claims the arrest was ‘part of a sting’ based on a ‘puritan law’ that says there is absolutely no touching in strip clubs in Columbus.
The law, The Community Defense Act, prohibits adult entertainment – defined as nude or topless dancing – between midnight and 6am.
Daniels has been embroiled in a lawsuit against President Donald Trump since March as she tries to escape a non-disclosure agreement so she can discuss an affair she had with him in 2006
It also outlaws touching a nude or semi-nude dancer or their clothing in or in the direct vicinity of the club – unless the person is a member of the dancer’s immediate family.
Avenatti says Daniels has received a misdemeanor and will be ‘released shortly’. He says the pair will contest all charges.
‘This was an absolute setup,’ he said.
Avenatti later released a statement from his client.
‘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,’ Daniels said.
Dailymail.com reached out to Sirens, which refused to comment.
When asked about the arrest, a member of staff told us ‘no comment’ before hanging up.
Daniels has been embroiled in a lawsuit with the president since early March, to get out of a non-disclosure agreement relating to an alleged affair she had with him in 2006.
She is hoping to have the non-disclosure agreement thrown out on the grounds it is invalid because Trump never signed it.
A defamation lawsuit was also filed in April, alleging the President tried to tarnish her reputation and credibility by dismissing her claim a man threatened her in 2011, when she was ready to go public about her alleged affair with Trump.
DailyMail.com have contacted the Columbus Police Department for comment.
Daniels has been touring the nation with her show (pictured in Florida in April)
Michael Avenatti says he will help Daniels fight any ‘bogus charges’