Stormy Daniels' arrest may have been a set-up

Stormy Daniels.
(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

That surprise sting that ended in Stormy Daniels' arrest may not have been a surprise after all.

Emails between Columbus, Ohio, police detectives suggest the adult performer's arrest was planned days before her July 12 performance, a whistleblower has revealed to a local paper, the Fayette Advocate. A lead detective in the supposed human trafficking sting sent emails to herself containing details about Daniels' Columbus performance days in advance, and sent more questionable emails after Daniels' arrest.

Daniels claims she had an affair with President Trump in 2006, and she has since become a fierce opponent of the president. She's been touring the country to perform at adult clubs and was arrested July 12 after apparently touching undercover agents disguised as club-goers, which is against Ohio law. The charges were dropped after it was revealed Daniels didn't quite break the law, and the Columbus police chief admitted the arrest was a "mistake."

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But the "mistake" was more like a set-up, the whistleblower claimed to the Advocate. Lead detective Shana Keckley emailed details of Daniels' performance from her personal to her work accounts, per the obtained records. That included pictures of Daniels with Trump and a map to the adult club she'd be appearing at. The morning after Daniels' arrest, Keckley emailed an officer to say she got the "elements" necessary to put Daniels and jail and seemed to congratulate herself on the operation.

Michael Avenatti, Daniels' outspoken attorney, claimed the sting was a political set-up immediately following the arrest. There doesn't appear to be evidence of political motivation in the whistleblower's emails. Read more at the Fayette Advocate.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.