Staffer on Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign says he kissed her without her consent
A staffer on Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign says he kissed her without her consent.
The incident is alleged to have happened to Alva Johnson, at a small gathering of supporters before a Florida rally.
“I immediately felt violated because I wasn’t expecting it or wanting it,” she said.
“I can still see his lips coming straight for my face.”
She claims in a new lawsuit that the incident still causes her anguish.
In interviews with The Washington Post, and in the lawsuit, she accused Trump of grabbing her hand and leaning in to kiss her on the lips as he exited an RV outside the rally in Tampa on Aug. 24, 2016.
She said she turned her head and the unwanted kiss landed on the side of her mouth, which she called “super-creepy and inappropriate.”
Alva Johnson stated in the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Florida’s Middle District, that the alleged incident was "part of a pattern of predatory and harassing behavior towards women" by Trump.
But Donald Trump has rejected the claims.
Johnson identified then-Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and a top campaign official as witnesses of the kiss.
Both denied that it occurred to the Washington Post.
Ms Johnson, who is African-American, also says in her lawsuit that she was paid “substantially less” than other staff members with similar responsibilities because of her race and gender.
This has also been denied.
In a statement, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders dismissed Johnson’s allegation as “absurd on its face.”
“This never happened and is directly contradicted by multiple highly credible eye witness accounts,” she wrote.
The allegation is not the first time accusations of this nature have been directed towards Donald Trump.
Trump has denied charges by a number of women who said he groped and kissed them over a period of years without permission.
In October 2016, The Washington Post published the videotape of Trump boasting about his sexual aggression to an “Access Hollywood” host.
“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them,” Trump said in 2005.
“It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”
Read More
Top Donald Trump stories
Source: Read Full Article