TAMPA: A woman who worked on Donald Trump`s presidential campaign sued the president on Monday, accusing him of kissing her without consent before a 2016 rally in Tampa, Florida.
Alva Johnson said in the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Florida`s Middle District, that the alleged incident was “part of a pattern of predatory and harassing behaviour towards women” by Trump.
“This accusation is absurd on its face,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement. “This never happened and is directly contradicted by multiple highly credible eye witness accounts.”
Trump has denied charges by a number of women who said he groped and kissed them over a period of years without permission.
The lawsuit alleges the encounter occurred inside a campaign RV before a rally on Aug. 24, 2016. While leaving a meeting in the vehicle, Trump gripped Johnson by the hand and leaned in so close that she felt his breath, the lawsuit says.
Johnson turned her head, trying to avoid a kiss, but Trump still managed to kiss the corner of her mouth, the lawsuit says. Johnson claims Trump had to move deliberately because her face was framed by a baseball cap.
“She felt confused and humiliated,” the lawsuit said.
High-profile Trump supporters including then-Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump`s Florida campaign director Karen Giorno were in the RV at the time, the lawsuit said. Both told the Washington Post, which first reported the lawsuit, that they saw nothing inappropriate.
