Charges against Stormy Daniels dismissed following Ohio strip club arrest
Good news for Stormy Daniels. Ohio police have dismissed charges filed against the adult film actress after she was arrested late Wednesday night at Sirens Gentlemen's Club, a Columbus, Ohio strip club. In paperwork filed Thursday morning shared by Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti, Ohio prosecutors wrote they believed there was "no probable cause" to proceed with their case.
According to earlier court documents, Daniels had allegedly touched guests at the club while she was performing on stage, which is against Ohio state law. The law states that performers who "regularly" appear nude or seminude cannot touch someone while on the grounds of a sexually related business unless that person is a family member. In this instance, the law was deemed not applicable because Daniels is not a regular performer at Sirens.
Undercover detectives allegedly saw Daniels forcing her breasts onto patrons' faces, and "fondling the breasts of female patrons." And, after the detectives witnessed Daniels allegedly touching patrons, they approached the stage where she was performing. Daniels then allegedly forced her breasts onto two undercover detectives' faces, per the court documents. She also reportedly "fondled a third officer's buttocks and breasts." Daniels had been out on $6,054 bail facing three misdemeanor counts of "illegal touching."
In an interview with The New York Times, Avenatti said, "There are undercover vice officers that came to the club for the purpose of trying to get her to touch them so that they could then arrest her, which is ludicrous." He also alleged that "[The undercover] officers asked her to allow them to place their face in between her breasts."
Daniels had earlier alleged that she once engaged in "sexual conduct" with Donald Trump. In April, Avenatti filed a lawsuit against Trump on Daniels' behalf. The lawsuit alleged Trump of attempting to defame Daniels and her story regarding a man who threatened her in 2011 around the time she threatened to go public with her and Trump's alleged affair. Daniels is also suing Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen over a non-disclosure agreement from 2016 that was reportedly made to keep Daniels quiet about her alleged affair with Trump.
When it comes to the Ohio strip club incident, Avenatti believes this was politically motivated and the charges are "bogus."