Ex-Campaign Worker for Trump Sues Over Unwanted Kiss Claim
Alva Johnson, who lives in the Huntsville, Alabama area, contends in the federal lawsuit that Trump made the nonconsensual advance in August 2016 in Tampa.
February 25, 2019 at 03:15 PM
4 minute read
A former worker on President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign claims in a lawsuit that he abruptly grabbed her by the hand and planted an unwanted kiss on her face during a Florida meeting with staff and volunteers.
Alva Johnson, who lives in the Huntsville, Alabama area, contends in the federal lawsuit that Trump made the nonconsensual advance in August 2016 in Tampa. She says he “grasped her hand and did not let go” and kissed her on the corner of her mouth as she turned slightly away.
“The forced and unwanted kiss was deeply offensive to Ms. Johnson,” the lawsuit says, adding that she suffered “emotional distress, psychological trauma, humiliation, embarrassment, loss of dignity, invasion of privacy and other damages.”
The lawsuit, first reported by The Washington Post, seeks unspecified money damages and an order preventing the president from “grabbing, kissing or otherwise assaulting or harassing women without prior express consent.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders called Johnson's allegations fabricated and said other people who were there say it did not take place.
“This accusation is absurd on its face. This never happened and is directly contradicted by multiple highly credible eyewitness accounts,” Sanders said.
At the time, Johnson's main job with the Trump campaign was to manage a fleet of recreational vehicles that served as traveling offices throughout Florida. According to the lawsuit, Trump visited one of these RVs in Tampa before a rally there when the unwanted kiss took place.
“He told her he knew she had been on the road for a long time and that she had been doing a great job. He also told Ms. Johnson that he would not forget about her, and that he was going to take care of her,” Johnson claims in the lawsuit.
Among those who allegedly witnessed the incident was Pam Bondi, at the time Florida's attorney general and a Trump supporter. The lawsuit contends that Bondi “glanced at Ms. Johnson and smiled” after the alleged unwanted kiss.
Bondi did not immediately respond Monday to an email seeking comment.
Johnson's lawsuit also recounts at least a dozen similar allegations made by women against Trump and notes that she realized she was not alone after the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape emerged in October 2016 in which Trump brags about groping and kissing women without asking permission. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
A Florida lawyer who she contacted not long after the incident, Adam Horowitz, said Monday that “she was definitely in distress and not just about her job.” She also told Horowitz she was seeing a therapist.
Horowitz said what they didn't know at the time was that October 2016 was also the month Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal were being paid off through then-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, according to Cohen's sworn statements. Horowitz ultimately did not take the Johnson case.
Johnson, who is African-American, also claims in the lawsuit that she was paid less than her Trump campaign counterparts because of her race and gender.
“The campaign knew that it was underpaying Ms. Johnson relative to her white counterparts,” the lawsuit claims.
Trump campaign spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany denied that claim.
“The Trump campaign has never discriminated based on race, ethnicity, gender, or any other basis. Any allegation suggesting otherwise is off base and unfounded.”
Curt Anderson reports for the Associated Press. Associated Press writers Catherine Lucey in Washington and Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All'Disease-Causing Bacteria': Colgate and Tom’s of Maine Face Toothpaste Class Action
3 minute readFlorida-Based Law Firms Start to Lag, As New York Takes a Bigger Piece of Deals
3 minute readFowler White Burnett Opens Jacksonville Office Focused on Transportation Practice
3 minute readDisbarred Attorney Alleges ADA Violations in Lawsuit Against Miami-Dade Judges
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Weil Advances 18 to Partner, Largest Class Since 2021
- 2People and Purpose: AbbVie's GC on Leading With Impact and Inspiring Change
- 3Beef Between Two South Florida Law Firms Deepens With Suit Over Defamation
- 4Judge Skips Over Sanctions in Talc Bankruptcy: 'That’s A No'
- 5Hit by Mail Truck: Man Agrees to $1.85M Settlement for Spinal Injuries
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250