Stormy Daniels arrested over ‘touching’ at strip club

Stormy Daniels (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu, File) Credit: AP/Press Association Images

Porn actress Stormy Daniels has been arrested at a US strip club after being accused of letting patrons touch her, in violation of a state law, her lawyer said.

While Daniels was performing at Sirens, a club in Columbus, Ohio, some patrons touched her in a “non-sexual” way, lawyer Michael Avenatti said.

An Ohio law known as the Community Defence Act prohibits anyone who is not a family member to touch a nude or semi-nude dancer.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was in police custody and was expected to face a misdemeanour charge, Mr Avenatti said.

“This was a complete set-up,” he said. “It’s absurd that law enforcement resources are being spent to conduct a sting operation related to customers touching performers in a strip club in a non-sexual manner.”

Daniels has said she had sex with Donald Trump in 2006 when he was married, which the president has denied.

She is suing him and his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, and seeking to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement she signed days before the 2016 presidential election.