A former staffer for President Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign who claimed he forcibly kissed her has dropped her lawsuit against him.
Alva Johnson, who worked for the campaign in Alabama, also alleged that the campaign engaged in wage discrimination against women and African American employees. She initially filed the lawsuit in February, but in June, U.S. District Court Judge William Jung dismissed it, calling the lawsuit too political in nature.
She said she still stands by the claim that Trump kissed her against her will in an RV in Florida. In a Thursday statement regarding the lawsuit, she said that she has received threats.
“I am facing a judge who openly questions whether the kiss is worthy of a federal lawsuit and has determined that Mr. Trump’s history of such behavior is not relevant, and I’ve endured on-going threats to my safety,” Johnson said in the statement to CNN. “I’ve decided for the sake of my family that I will not continue with the case at this time.”
Trump’s lawyers released a video of the interaction in question, which shows Trump kissing her on the cheek.
Trump’s attorney for the case, Charles Harder, said that the “two have a very brief, innocent interaction that is mutual — and not forcible.”
Harder also said that Johnson “giving up the case, represents total victory for President Trump, and fully vindicates him of Johnson’s false accusations.”
He also noted that Johnson had signed a nondisclosure agreement and that her public statements have breached the agreement.
“The president and campaign are weighing their legal options against Ms. Johnson at this time, and have demanded that she reimburse them for the attorneys’ fees and costs they incurred in her failed lawsuit,” Harder said.
Johnson’s attorney, Hassan Zavareei, said that the NDA was “unenforceable” and that Johnson paying back Trump’s legal team wasn’t going to happen.
He also viewed the video differently and said that the interaction could be constituted as battery.
“Unfortunately, that does not appear to be enough for our judge, who has expressed a very narrow view of what constitutes battery,” Zavareei said.
