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The lawsuit accusing Trump of raping a 13-year-old girl, explained

The anonymous plaintiff dropped her lawsuit against Trump, the circumstances around which have been bizarre.

Donald Trump Campaigns Across Florida Ahead Of Election
Donald Trump Campaigns Across Florida Ahead Of Election
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Fifteen women have now gone on record to say that Donald Trump sexually assaulted them. Out of all of their stories, one is the most explosive and bizarre — a woman who says Trump violently raped her at an orgy when she was just 13 years old. But the horrific details of her accusation have gotten the least attention.

It seemed like that was all going to change Wednesday, when the woman, who has gone by the pseudonyms “Katie Johnson” and “Jane Doe,” was set to appear at a press conference at the law offices of Lisa Bloom, a high-profile civil rights attorney and TV commentator. But the woman didn’t come to the press conference. Bloom told a room full of waiting reporters that Johnson was afraid to show her face after receiving multiple death threats, and that they would have to reschedule.

Then on Friday, Bloom announced that Johnson had dropped her lawsuit:

It’s not uncommon for victims of sexual assault to want to preserve their anonymity, and dropping a lawsuit doesn’t mean admitting that the case had no merit. Jill Harth, who sued Trump for sexual assault in 1997, still stands by her claims even though she dropped the lawsuit. And it would indeed have been an intense couple of days for Johnson — Bloom said

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