A woman who has accused President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, of inappropriate touching has filed a police report.
Joy Villa, a singer who memorably wore a “Make America Great Again” dress to the Grammy Awards in February, filed a sexual assault report — obtained by TheWrap — with the Metropolitan Police Department the day before Christmas. Villa said Lewandowski slapped her on her buttocks twice at a recent party — even after she objected.
“I don’t regret that I came forward, even though I was fearful and ashamed to at first,” Villa told TheWrap. “I was shocked by his behavior, but even more so by his reaction after I asked him to stop.”
Villa told Politico on Friday that Lewandowski slapped her on the backside at the Trump International Hotel in Washington in late November.
According to Villa, she and a friend were at an invitation-only party to celebrate the president’s first year in office when another guest pushed her towards Lewandowski for a photo. She said it was then that Lewandowski slapped her rear end.
“I said, ‘Watch it,’” she told Politico. “‘Half-joking, I said, ‘I can report you for sexual harassment.’”
But Lewandowski’s response, she said, was more of the same.
“He said, ‘Go ahead, I work in the private sector,’” Villa recalled. “Then he smacks my ass again.”
“I didn’t file [a police report] that night because Lewandowski has a lot of power and influence,” Villa told TheWrap. “I was terrified of what he might do for my potential Congress run.”
Villa, who’s exploring a congressional bid in Florida, tweeted out a photo on Friday which she says was taken just moments before the alleged incident.
“Here’s the photo of @CLewandowski_ seconds before he slapped my ass, I told him to stop, and then he did it again,” she wrote. “I was shocked and embarrassed by his behavior.”
https://twitter.com/Joy_Villa/status/944420273679454209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thewrap.com%2Fcorey-lewandowski-accused-butt-smack-trump-supporter-joy-villa%2F
A person who chose to remain anonymous, told TheWrap that they witnessed the incident and that it happened as Villa has described.
“I cannot stay silent when this happened to me, in full public view,” Villa told TheWrap. “No one should abuse their power to take liberties like this. He is at fault, not me, not the president, not anyone else.”
“If my story can help other women and men come forward and help put an end to this ugliness, it’s worth it,” she continued.
In March 2016, while still serving as Trump’s campaign manager, Lewandowski was charged with simple battery after a reporter for Breitbart News, Michelle Fields, accused him of violently grabbing her arm at a campaign event.
The charges were eventually dropped.
Lewandowski was fired from the Trump campaign in June. He is currently promoting his tell-all book “Let Trump Be Trump,” which gives an insider’s perspective of Trump’s run for office and how every person involved in the campaign became, at one point or another, a target of his wrath.
Lewandowski did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“Every other man at that party was a gentleman and I’ve never seen anything but courteous and graceful behavior from my fellow Trump supporters and campaigners,” Villa said. “Corey Lewandowski has betrayed our trust, and behaved unethically and shamefully.”
Rosemary Rossi contributed to this report.