Charges Against Stormy Daniels Dropped After Ohio Strip Club Arrest [Updated]

Stormy Daniels, the porn actor currently suing Donald Trump for defamation after a 2006 affair, was arrested early Thursday morning at a strip club in Columbus, Ohio, for allegedly touching some of the club’s patrons while she was on stage, CNN reports. Daniels posted a bail of $6,054 and was quickly released.

Under Ohio law, strippers are not allowed to touch patrons—unless it’s a family member. According to documents acquired by CNN, Daniels “fondled the breasts of female patrons.” Three officers approached her after witnessing said action and Daniels placed their faces into her breasts, then “fondled an officer’s buttocks and breasts.” She and two other performers were arrested.

Daniels’ lawyer, the ever-present Michael Avenatti, tweeted about the arrest, claiming it “was a setup and politically motivated,” adding, “She was arrested for allegedly allowing a customer to touch her while on stage in a non sexual manner! Are you kidding me? They are devoting law enforcement resources to sting operations for this?”:

We will continue to update this story as more information is revealed.

Update, 10:33 a.m.: Stormy Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti appeared on MSNBC this morning to discuss his client’s recent arrest. He told the news outlet Daniels appeared at Sirens, a strip club in Columbus, Ohio, to give the same performance she’s been giving at clubs across the country, where she was “set up.” He said:

“She was there for her performance and unbeknownst to her, the police had set up a sting operation within the strip club with multiple officers. During her performance, they asked her if they could place their face in between her breasts while she was performing while she was performing on stage…The undercover officers were female, which was not unusual to her because there are a lot of females going to clubs around the country to see her.

My client was subsequently taken into custody. They took her on the perp walk so she could be video tapped getting out of the paddy wagon. She was bailed out this morning on $6,000 bail. She has an arraignment tomorrow morning at 9:30. We’re entering a not guilty plea today so she will not make a personal appearance tomorrow. We’ve cancelled the event for today. She’s likely to leave the state here within a couple hours.”

Watch the full clip below.

Update, 1:19 p.m.: Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniels’ attorney, tweeted Thursday afternoon that charges against his client were dropped just hours after her arrest. He wrote, “I am pleased to report that the charges against my client have been dismissed in their entirety.”