An employee who worked for Herschel Walker’s Republican Senate campaign sued prominent conservative activist Matt Schlapp on Tuesday, accusing Schlapp of harassing him during a drive in Georgia ahead of last year’s midterm elections.
Schlapp denies the allegations, and his lawyer says they are considering filing a counterclaim.
The employee’s battery and defamation lawsuit was filed in Alexandria Circuit Court in Virginia, where Schlapp lives, and is seeking damages of more than $9 million.
Get more from the Citrus County Chronicle
She accuses Schlapp of sustainably “groping” the employees’ genital area while the employee drove Schlapp back to his hotel from a bar in October after a Walker campaign event. allegations were I first mentioned earlier This month by The Daily Beast.
The employee filed the lawsuit anonymously as “John Doe,” referring to his status as an alleged sexual assault victim and fearing backlash from supporters of Schlapp, a longtime adviser to former President Donald Trump and president of the American Conservative Union, which organizes the conservative political party’s Labor Conference.
The lawsuit also accuses Schlapp and his wife Mercedes, who served in the Trump White House as director of strategic communications, with defamation and conspiracy, citing his repeated denials of the allegations and alleged attempts by both to discredit the employee.
In a statement, Schlapp’s attorney Charlie Spies denied the allegation, saying, “The complaint is false and Schlapp’s family is experiencing unbearable pain and stress because of the false allegation from an unknown person.” He said the legal team was “evaluating options for a counterclaim.”
According to the lawsuit, Matt Schlapp was in Georgia in the final days of the general election season for the campaign of Walker, a former University of Georgia football star who Ended up losing a runoff To Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock. The lawsuit alleges that after the employee drove Schlapp back to Atlanta following his campaign event, the two visited a local bar, where Schlapp, according to the suit, sat “unusually close” to the accuser, “so that his leg repeatedly made contact with him, and he was almost constantly in contact with his leg.” Mr. Du.”
The employee says he offered to take Schlapp back to his hotel, but during the car ride Schlapp allegedly put his hand on the employee’s leg without his consent, leaving him “frozen with shock, exhaustion and fear of what was happening, especially given Mr. Schlapp’s power and standing in social circles.” Governorate “.
The lawsuit alleges that when they arrived at the hotel, Schlapp invited the employee to his room, but the employee refused. He later informed senior campaign aides of what had happened and recorded a video recounting the events.
“As a direct and direct result of Mr. Shalab’s strike on Mr. Du, Mr. Du suffered damages, including but not limited to shock, insult, horror, humiliation, and distress.”
Former top Walker campaign aides did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press seeking comment on Tuesday.
Timothy Hyland, the attorney representing the employee, declined to comment, but sent a statement from his law firm calling Schlapp a “sexual predator” who must be held accountable.
“Our client is not pleased that this lawsuit was brought. Mr. Schlap, however, had ample time to accept responsibility and apologize for his despicable actions. But instead of doing the right thing, Mr. Schlap, Mrs. Schlap and their friends and associates embarked on a ridiculous, false and defamatory attempt to discredit Mr. Schlap’s victim.” .
prep area
Get updates and player profiles before high school games on Friday, plus Saturday’s recap with stories, photos, and video Frequency: Seasonal twice a week
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.
