During a performance at an Ohio strip club on Thursday, porn star Stormy Daniels was arrested for violating Ohio law regarding having physical contact with strip club patrons. Less than 24-hours later, a judge dropped all charges against her, according to 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.”
The charges 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 had her charges dropped reportedly because she was not an employee of the club.
Two of the dancers arrested with her weren’t so lucky.
In a Twitter post this Thursday afternoon, Daniels said that she was “saddened” to hear the other women’s charges weren’t dropped, and she would be donating the proceeds from her next appearance at the club towards their legal fees.
“Saddened to hear the other 2 dancers arrested with me last night did not have their charges dropped,” she tweeted. “All tips from my stage performance tonight at Sirens in Columbus will go towards their legal fees. Come support the working women of this city. #letussurvive”
Saddened to hear the other 2 dancers arrested with me last night did not have their charges dropped. All tips from my stage performance tonight at Sirens in Columbus will go towards their legal fees. Come support the working women of this city. #letussurvive
— Stormy Daniels (@StormyDaniels) July 12, 2018
Daniel’s arrest is prompting question about what the motivations were behind it. A report for The New York Times wondered why “it was it even a priority to send four detectives” to a strip club.
[Daniels’] arrest on Wednesday raised questions about the criminalization of consensual sexual conduct in the United States and about law enforcement priorities, especially in a city that saw a surge in murders last year.
Michael Probst, a criminal-defense lawyer in Columbus, said that there had recently been some police stings in strip clubs. But he said those have tended to focus “more in the quote-unquote Champagne rooms, where someone might be trying to engage in sexual conduct” with a stripper.
Mr. Probst said he doubted it was a coincidence that undercover police were in the club during Ms. Clifford’s performance.
Featured image via screen grab/YouTube
