A former campaign staffer for President Trump alleged that Trump kissed her without consent in 2016. The Washington Post reported that Alva Johnson said Trump grabbed her hand and attempted to kiss her at a gathering with supporters before a rally that took place in Tampa, Florida, on Aug. 24, 2016.
The incident occurred when Trump was leaving an RV. Johnson recounted that she thought “he’s coming straight for my lips. So I turn my head, and he kisses me right on corner of my mouth, still holding my hand the entire time,” Johnson said. “Then he walks on out.”
Johnson said she relayed what happened to both her family and boyfriend about the incident and consulted a Florida attorney for advice on how to proceed. She filed a federal lawsuit filed in Florida on Monday seeking unspecified damages for emotional pain and suffering. The lawsuit also alleges Johnson was discriminated against due to her gender and was paid less than her male colleagues.
Johnson served on the Trump campaign as the director of outreach and coalitions in Alabama, joining in early 2016.
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“I immediately felt violated because I wasn’t expecting it or wanting it,” Johnson said. “I can still see his lips coming straight for my face.”
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders denied allegations in a statement to the Post, saying "this never happened." denied the allegations.
"[This] is directly contradicted by multiple highly credible eye witness accounts,” she wrote.
Two individuals, one a former Republican Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and the other an official on Trump's campaign, told the Post they did not see it take place.
“Do I recall seeing anything inappropriate? One hundred percent no,” Bondi told the Post in an interview. “I’m a prosecutor, and if I saw something inappropriate, I would have said something.”
Karen Giorno, director of the Florida campaign and the other individual Johnson said witnessed the incident, told the Post the kiss “absolutely did not happen.”
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