Matt Schlapp Sued for $9.4 Million After Allegedly Groping Man’s Crotch
A former campaign staffer to Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker is seeking almost $9.4 million in damages in a lawsuit alleging that CPAC Chair Matt Schlapp groped him non-consensually in October. The suit alleges that Schlapp defamed him and committed sexual battery against the staffer when he “reached in between [his] legs and fondled” him in a “sustained and unwanted and unsolicited” manner.
According to a report from The New York Times, the suit also names Mercedes Schlapp, Schlapp’s wife and a former Trump White House communications adviser. The staffer, who has chosen not to reveal his identity in the lawsuit due to privacy and safety concerns, alleges that Mrs. Schlapp attempted to “impugn” his character in her response to the allegations against her husband, calling him a “troubled individual,” and alleged he had been dismissed from the campaign after lying on his resume in a group chat with neighbors.
Timothy Hyland, an attorney representing the accuser, told the Times that “this suit aims to make Mr. Schlapp, and those who lie for him, accountable for their actions and statements.” On top of the $3.85 million sought against Schapp for assault, the staffer seeks 1.85 million from both Schlapps for defamation, and $1.85 for the alleged conspiracy between the pair.
Schlapp responded to the suit through his lawyer, calling the complaint “false” and threatening to counter-sue. A lawyer representing Mrs. Schlapp accused the staffer of working in coordination with The Daily Beast “to attack and harm the Schlapp family.”
The Daily Beast was the first to report on the accusation. The incident reportedly took place on Oct. 19, in the staffer’s car after he offered to drop Schlapp off at his hotel following an invitation from Schlapp to meet for drinks in Washington D.C.. Schlapp reportedly attempted to invite the staffer to his hotel room. “It was a public space, and I was thinking that he got the hint. I did not want to embarrass him,” the staffer, who is reportedly in his late 30s, said. “But it escalated.”
“He reached in between my legs and fondled me,” the staffer previously told NBC News, adding to The Daily Beast that the touching was “sustained and unwanted and unsolicited.” “To my shame, I did not say ‘no’ or ‘stop,’” the staffers said in a video he recorded shortly after the incident that he shared with both The Daily Beast and NBC News.
The staffer reportedly contacted the Walker campaign the next morning. He told The Daily Beast that a senior aide was “immediately horrified” and pulled him off the assignment. “I did want to say I was uncomfortable with what happened last night,” the staffer reportedly texted Schlapp. “The campaign does have a driver who is available to get you to Macon and back to the airport.” Schlapp then tried to call the staffer repeatedly, ultimately texting that he’d appreciate it if the staffer could “see it in your heart” to call him by the end of the day, according to The Daily Beast. The staffer never did, and has not had any additional contact with Schlapp.
