Stormy Daniels sues Ohio police officer claiming he arrested her to protect Trump

Columbus police officers arrested the adult film star at a strip club in July 2018

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels has filed a federal lawsuit against Ohio police officers who arrested her during her strip club performance in July 2018, accusing them of “engaging in a conspiracy” to protect President Donald Trump.

Last summer, Ms Daniels, 39, was arrested by undercover cops during her performance at Sirens Gentlemen’s Club in Columbus.

She was charged with three offences for inappropriately touching a female undercover officer, but those charges were dropped within hours.

Ms Daniels has made headlines over the past few years for publicly claiming she had an affair with Mr Trump more than a decade ago, and is currently suing the president for defamation.

In the federal civil rights suit, Ms Daniels—whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford—alleges cops arrested her because she was deemed a threat to Mr Trump.

“Defendant Officers believed that Ms. Clifford was damaging President Trump and they thereafter entered into a conspiracy to arrest her during her performance in Columbus in retaliation for the public statements she had made regarding President Trump,” the lawsuit filed on Monday in an Ohio federal court said.

The lawsuit also said that the cops also ”arrested Ms. Clifford because they believed that doing so would damage her credibility in relation to any statements she had make or might in the future make against President Trump. Damaging Ms. Clifford’s credibility in this way was another purpose of Defendant Officers’ conspiracy.”