Adult star claims she was ‘setup’ following misdemeanor arrest

Adult star Stormy Daniels has been arrested in an Ohio strip club on misdemeanor charges for allegedly ‘touching’ undercover police officers during a performance.

Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti, slammed the “bogus charges” his client is facing and vows to fight the arrest that he claims was “politically motivated” and a “setup.”

The bust took place early on Thursday, with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, being taken into custody while performing at the club.

According to the police report, Daniels was arrested for touching the “specified anatomical area” of female and male officers posing as patrons while she was “nude or semi-nude.”

Avenatti responded to the claims by tweeting with the hashtags “setup” and “basta,” which is Italian for enough.

“Are you kidding me? They are devoting law enforcement resources to sting operations for this? There has to be higher priorities!” Avenatti said in another tweet, appearing to suggest a set-up. 

Fox News reports: Daniels was topless when she “knowingly” touched a female Columbus police officer’s buttocks, placed her hands on the officer’s breast and then put her chest in the officer’s face while “on the premise of a sexually oriented business,” according to charging documents from the Franklin County Municipal Court obtained by WBNS.

A 2007 state law called the Community Defense Act prohibits dancers from touching customers and vice versa – excluding immediate family members.  

Although the law has been in effect for over a decade, a 2017 report from The Columbus Dispatch found that it is seldom enforced.

The porn star’s lawyer said the arrest “reeks of desperation,” and said Daniels was performing the same routine she had done “at nearly a hundred strip clubs” throughout the country.

Just rcvd word that my client @StormyDaniels was arrested in Columbus Ohio whole performing the same act she has performed across the nation at nearly a hundred strip clubs. This was a setup & politically motivated. It reeks of desperation. We will fight all bogus charges. #Basta

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) July 12, 2018

The charging docs obtained by WBNS @10TV allege Stormy Daniels violated Ohio law by touching a “specified anatomical area” of female and male officers posing as patrons, and also touched them with her own “specified anatomical area.” pic.twitter.com/kykV6MlQfG

— Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) July 12, 2018

Daniels, who claims to have had sex with President Donald Trump in 2006 when he was married, is suing the president and his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen over a nondisclosure agreement she signed to keep quiet on the alleged affair. Trump has denied the accusation.

According to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Daniels was booked on a misdemeanor charge on Thursday.

The strip club where she reportedly performed, called Sirens, declined to comment when asked about the matter.   

Avenatti confirmed to Fox News that his client was arrested just after midnight Thursday.

Daniels posted bail and is scheduled for arraignment on Friday, according to court documents.