NJ-bound Stormy Daniels arrested at Ohio strip club, charges dropped

UPDATE:

The attorney for porn actress Stormy Daniels says prosecutors have dropped all charges against her following her overnight arrest at an Ohio adult club.

Michael Avenatti represents Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. He said Thursday afternoon in a tweet he was pleased prosecutors dropped the charges and thanked them for their professionalism.

A prosecutor's memo provided by Avenatti says an Ohio illegal touching law can't be enforced because Daniels has only appeared once at the Columbus club.

The law refers to someone "who regularly appears nude or seminude" at a club.

Messages were left with the Columbus city prosecutor's office seeking comment.

EARLIER REPORT:

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Porn actress Stormy Daniels was arrested at an Ohio strip club and is accused of letting patrons touch her in violation of a state law, her attorney said early Thursday.

While Daniels was performing at Sirens, a strip club in Columbus, some patrons touched her in a "non-sexual" way, her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, told The Associated Press.

The arrest comes hours after a Wayne club, Lace Wayne, announced that Daniels would be appearing on August 9.

An Ohio law known as the Community Defense Act prohibits anyone who isn't a family member to touch a nude or semi-nude dancer.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was in police custody early Thursday morning and was expected to face a misdemeanor charge, Avenatti said.

"This was a complete set up," he said. "It's absurd that law enforcement resources are being spent to conduct a sting operation related to customers touching performers in a strip club in a non-sexual manner."

A Columbus police spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment. A person who answered the phone at the strip club declined to comment.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she had sex with President Donald Trump in 2006 when he was married, which Trump has denied. She's suing Trump and his former longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, and seeking to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement that she signed days before the 2016 presidential election.

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