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A weird and deeply troubling scandal is enjoying out in Washington this week.
And no, we’re not speaking concerning the ongoing controversy surrounding the discharge of the Epstein information — though this example additionally includes President Donald Trump.
The state of affairs started over the summer time, when a former congressional aide named Natalie Greene informed police that she was attacked by Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve in New Jersey by three knife-wielding males.
Natalie Greene has been accused of staging an anti-Trump assault. (YouTube)
Greene claimed that she and a good friend had been assaulted whereas strolling by means of the Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve in New Jersey.
She alleged that the boys zip-tied her, lower her flesh, and wrote “Trump Wh-re” throughout her abdomen.
Now, police say they consider that the entire thing was an elaborate hoax.
Greene, a regulation scholar at Rutgers, was working for Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Ocean Metropolis) on the time of the incident.
Authorities say Greene and her confederate made a late-night 911 name from the park.
When police arrived they discovered Greene along with her shirt over her head and varied political slurs written on her physique.
Along with the phrases on her abdomen, “Jeff Van Drew is a racist” had been written on her again.
In subsequent interviews with the FBI, the tales informed by Greene and her co-conspirator didn’t match.
Authorities say they now have proof that Greene bought the zip ties herself and paid a physique modification knowledgeable specializing in “scarification” to cowl her physique in knife wounds.
In response to the New Jersey Globe, Greene has now been charged with one depend of conspiracy to convey false statements and hoaxes and one depend of creating false statements to federal regulation enforcement.
She appeared earlier than a choose on Thursday and has now been launched on $200,000 bond.
Greene has not but spoken publicly concerning the costs in opposition to her, however her lawyer, Louis Barbone, issued a press release on her behalf.
“At the age of 26, my client served her community working full time to assist the constituents of the Congressman with loyalty and fidelity,” Barbone informed TMZ.
“She did that while being a full-time student. Under the law, she is presumed innocent and reserves all of her defenses for presentation in a court of law.”
No date has been set for the beginning of Greene’s trial. We can have additional updates on this creating story as new data turns into accessible.