Five police officers from Columbus, Ohio, are being reprimanded over the arrest of porn star Stormy Daniels last year.
Interim Police Chief Tom Quinlan said the officers being departmentally charged include a commander, lieutenant, sergeant, and two of the arresting officers.
“These officers violated our rules of conduct. The range of discipline for these officers can include a reprimand, a suspension, demotion, and/or termination,” he said in a video Wednesday.
“Because of pending litigation, as well as a concurrent federal criminal investigation, I will not elaborate further on our investigation findings at this time,” he said.
Daniels was arrested at Sirens Gentleman’s Club, an Ohio strip club, in July 2018 after police said she touched patrons while she performed. State law prohibits employees who regularly appear nude or semi-nude from touching patrons.
Charges against Daniels were dropped soon after her arrest. Daniels’ lawyer at the time, Michael Avenatti, said the charges were retaliation for her claims that she had sex with President Trump in 2006, after he married first lady Melania Trump.
Before the 2016 election, Daniels was paid $130,000 by Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen in exchange for her silence about the alleged affair. Trump denies the affair happened.
