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Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A staffer on Herschel Walker's failed Senate campaign has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Matt Schlapp, accusing the American Conservative Union chairman of sexually assaulting him. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the Virginia Circuit Court in Alexandria, naming Schlapp and his wife, Mercedes Schlapp -- who is also a prominent conservative -- as defendants.
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The anonymous plaintiff, referred to in the lawsuit as John Doe, accuses Matt Schlapp of "aggressively fondling" his genitals during a car ride in October and the Schlapps of conspiring with others to defame him after his allegations first became known earlier this month in an article published by The Daily Beast.
The civil lawsuit seeks some $9 million in damages.
Charlie Spies, counsel for the Schlapps, rejected the lawsuit as an attempt to harm his clients.
"The complaint is false, and the Schlapp family is suffering unbearable pain and stress due to the false allegation from an anonymous individual," Spies said in a statement published to Matt Schlapp's Twitter account. "No family should ever go through this, and the Schlapps and their legal team are assessing counter-lawsuit options."
The lawsuit describes the plaintiff as having been involved in conservative and Republican Party politics in various roles since 2012, and states his anonymity is required, citing an unusual risk of physical and mental retaliatory harm as the Schlapps are well known among "a portion of the population that has demonstrated a proclivity for threatening violence against those with whom they disagree."
The plaintiff accuses Matt Schlapp of committing sexual battery against him on Oct. 19 in the state of Georgia after the Conservative Political Action Conference organizer spoke at a campaign event for Walker in the city of Perry.
The complaint states that following Matt Schlapp's speaking engagement, Doe drove him to a hotel. That afternoon, Matt Schlapp invited Doe via text message, a copy of which is included in the court document, for drinks later that night, which the plaintiff accepted "because Mr. Schlapp is a very prominent and well-connected person in conservative politics" and Doe was "eager to make connections" in the conservative movement.
At a bar that night, the lawsuit states "Mr. Schlapp sat unusually close to Mr. Doe" causing their legs to repeatedly touch and for Matt Schlapp to bump into Doe's torso.
"Mr. Schlapp also encouraged Mr. Doe to have more drinks, despite the fact that Mr. Doe was driving," the lawsuit states.
To escape the situation, the plaintiff reminded Matt Schlapp that he had another speaking engagement the following day, and offered to drive him to his hotel.
During the drive, Matt Schlapp is accused of placing his hand on the plaintiff's leg, which caused Doe to become "frozen with shock, mortification and fear."
The lawsuit then accuses Matt Schlapp of "aggressively fondling Mr. Doe's genital area in a sustained fashion."
"Again, Mr. Doe was frozen with fear and panic from what was happening," the court document states.
At the hotel, Matt Schlapp then allegedly invited the plaintiff to his hotel room, to which Doe declined.
During the next day, the plaintiff informed "several trusted persons" about the alleged assault while Matt Schlapp repeatedly called Doe, the lawsuit states.
Following the Jan. 5 publication of the accusations in The Daily Beast, Matt Schlapp "through the use of lawyers and hired guns," and his wife directly "began a campaign to impugn Mr. Doe's character," the document continues.
The lawsuit accuses Matt Schlapp of defaming the plaintiff by having his lawyer send the online news organization a statement denying the allegations and Mercedes Schlapp of posting allegedly false statements impugning Doe to a neighborhood group chat.
Copies of the messages included in the charging document state Mercedes Schlapp called Doe "a troubled individual" who had been "fired from multiple jobs, including one for lying and lying on his resume."
The lawsuit adds that confederates to the Schlapps also published other damaging statements about the plaintiff online.
In a statement to The New York Times, which was the first to report on the lawsuit, Timothy Hyland, a lawyer for the plaintiff, said they filed the lawsuit because Matt Schlapp had not offered an apology for "his despicable actions."
"This suit aims to make Mr. Schlapp, and those who lie for him, accountable for their actions and statements," Hyland said.
