Porn actress Stormy Daniels was arrested at an Ohio strip club and is accused of letting patrons touch her in violation of a state law, her attorney said early Thursday.
While Daniels was performing Wednesday night at Sirens, a strip club in Columbus, some patrons touched her in a “non-sexual” way, her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, told The Associated Press.
An Ohio law known as the Community Defence Act prohibits anyone who isn’t a family member to touch a nude or semi-nude dancer.
Daniels, who was semi-nude, allegedly touched some of the patrons’ breasts and allowed them to touch her, according to charging documents obtained by WSYX -TV. She allegedly performed the same act with several officers who approached the stage and forced one officer’s head into her bare chest.
She was released on bail before 6 a.m. Thursday. Court records show Daniels posted $6,000.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is set for arraignment Friday on three misdemeanour counts of touching a patron at a “sexually oriented” business in violation of an Ohio strip club law.
Avenatti says she will plead not guilty to all counts.
“This was a complete set up,” he said. “It’s absurd that law enforcement resources are being spent to conduct a sting operation related to customers touching performers in a strip club in a non-sexual manner.”
Avenatti posted on Twitter a statement by Daniels that said she apologized to her fans in Columbus, but she would not perform her previously scheduled Thursday night show.
A Columbus police spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment. A person who answered the phone at the strip club declined to comment.
Daniels has said she had sex with President Donald Trump in 2006, when he was married, which Trump has denied. She’s suing Trump and his former longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, and seeking to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement that she signed days before the 2016 presidential election.