Judge dismisses all charges against Stormy Daniels just hours after she was arrested

After her arrest during a performance at an Ohio strip club on Thursday, a judge dropped all charges against porn star Stormy Daniels later, according to her lawyer Michael Avenatti.

In a Twitter post Thursday morning, Avenatti wrote that the charges against Daniels  “have been dismissed in their entirety.”

“I am pleased to report that the charges against my client @stormydaniels have been dismissed in their entirety (below motion was just granted),” Avenatti tweeted. “I want to thank Joe Gibson & his colleagues at the prosecutors [office] for their professionalism starting with our first call early this am.”

https://twitter.com/shanenews/status/1017365478199709698

The charges against Daniels included three counts of illegally touching a patron. According to Ohio law, strippers or any kind of entertainer who performs nude or semi-nude, are not allowed to touch anyone who may be observing.

Daniels was reportedly arrested along with three other women.

According to police, the arrests were due to an ongoing investigation into alleged human trafficking and prostitution. The three different patrons Daniels allegedly touched were undercover police officers.

Soon after the arrest, Avenatti slammed it as “a setup” that was “political motivated.”

“Just [received] 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,” Avenatto tweeted on Wednesday. “This was a setup & politically motivated. It reeks of desperation. We will fight all bogus charges.

Snopes reporter Bethania Palma (who is my sister) said that accusations of political bias against the arresting officers shouldn’t be a surprise.

“Vice squads, unless they are dealing with abusive situations, waste public resources when they enforce puritanical behavioral norms on consenting adults,” Palma tweeted. “In a case like this the police department opened themselves up to accusations of political bias as well.”

“If it turns out to be true that the police were retaliating due to political bias, that has whiffs of authoritarian behavior,” she added. “Those involved have no business in law enforcement. Also, vice busts tend to punish vulnerable women, primarily sex workers.”

https://twitter.com/bethaniapalma/status/1017464354151657472

Daniels made headlines earlier this year after she came forward about an alleged sexual encounter she had with Trump back in 2006. Daniels’ story was compounded by the revelation that Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen arranged a $130,000 payment to keep Daniels quiet about the matter.

Featured image via Twitter

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.