This article has been updated to reflect the most recent reporting.
Adult film actress Stormy Daniels was arrested and charged with three counts of misdemeanor sex offenses in Columbus early Thursday morning. The charges were dropped later Thursday, according to her attorney.
Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was arrested after inappropriately touching patrons of Sirens Gentlemen’s Club and three undercover police officers during her performance, according to Franklin County Municipal Court records.
Ohio law prohibits employees of sexually oriented businesses from touching or being touched by a patron unless that person is a member of the performer’s immediate family.
Those charges were dropped later Thursday, according to court documents tweeted by Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti.
Avenatti had previously said Daniels would plead not guilty to the charges. He also claimed Daniels’ arrest was politically motivated because she is suing President Donald Trump and his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, so she can be released from a nondisclosure agreement regarding her alleged 2006 affair with President Trump.
Daniels was scheduled to perform at the northeastern Columbus strip club for a second time late Thursday night. According to Avenatti, that performance was initially cancelled, then rescheduled, then cancelled again (though Daniels was looking for another club in the area to perform at).
