Lawsuit claims officers were Trump supporters who tried to discredit Daniels with charges that were dropped within hours

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Stormy Daniels has sued several Columbus police officers for $2m over her arrest at a strip club in July 2018, an incident that sparked criticism of the law used to arrest her and led to other lawsuits against the city.

Daniels’s federal defamation lawsuit alleges officers conspired to retaliate against the adult film actor because of her claims she had sex with Donald Trump before he became president.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was arrested in Ohio in July on suspicion of inappropriately touching a female undercover officer. Two club employees also were arrested.

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Prosecutors dropped charges against Daniels hours later, saying the law cited in her arrest applied only to those who regularly performed at the club.

The four officers named in the lawsuit were Trump supporters who saw an opportunity to defame Daniels after they learned she planned to perform at Sirens men’s club, according to the lawsuit, filed by Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti, a frequent Trump critic who at one time considered running for president.

The officers “believed that Ms Clifford was damaging President Trump and they thereafter entered into a conspiracy to arrest her during her performance in Columbus in retaliation for the public statements she had made regarding President Trump”, the lawsuit alleges.

Officers also believed arresting Daniels would damage her credibility in any future remarks she made about the president, the lawsuit said.

The police department declined to comment while an internal investigation of the city’s vice squad continues.

The 10-year-old law used to arrest Daniels states that dancers at “sexually oriented” businesses are prohibited from touching customers and vice versa.

In 2018 the city attorney Zach Klein called the law “glaringly inequitable” because its applicability depends on how regularly the employee performs and should not be enforced. He also said employees who touched police were not in violation because on-duty public officials are not legally considered patrons.

“We’re aware of the lawsuit and are working to determine the best course of action for the city,” Meredith Tucker, a Klein spokeswoman, said on Monday.

The two dancers arrested with Daniels that night have filed a similar lawsuit.