Stormy Daniels was arrested while performing at a strip club. Lawyer Michael Avenatti thinks it was a “setup.”

She allegedly violated an Ohio law that some say is rarely enforced.

Adult film star Stormy Daniels, who is involved in an ongoing legal dispute with President Trump and his lawyer Michael Cohen, was arrested early Thursday morning at a strip club in Columbus, Ohio, according to her lawyer, Michael Avenatti. Police say Daniels touched patrons while performing onstage, which is a violation of Ohio state law. She was charged on three misdemeanor counts.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, posted a $6,054 bail on Thursday and will be arraigned on Friday morning, July 13, according to court records. Avenatti said Daniels “will issue a plea of ‘Not Guilty’” to the three misdemeanor charges.

Police said undercover cops witnessed Daniels violating Ohio’s Community Defense Act. The law says that nude employees cannot touch or be touched by patrons other than family members while on the premise of a “sexually-oriented” establishment where they appear on regular basis. The Columbus Dispatch found that the law is rarely enforced.

Avenatti believes that Daniels’ arrest was a part of an elaborate “sting operation.” Daniels is suing President Donald Trump for defamation following comments he made after revelations of an alleged affair between the two went public

The plot thickens

Avenatti took to Twitter, declaring that Daniels had set up by police. “This was a setup & politically motivated,” Avenatti said. “It reeks of desperation. We will fight all bogus charges.”

Police allege that Daniels touched the undercover vice officer who was posing as a customer.

Avenatti argued, however, that it was the “customer” who touched Daniels while she was “on stage in a non sexual manner.”

On Thursday morning Avenatti appeared on MSNBC to further advocate for his client.

He told MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle that it was police who pursued Daniels, approaching her and initiating the touching.

“I think this [arrest] is ridiculous,” Avenatti said. “I think it’s an absurd use of law enforcement resources.”

Daniels was arrested for what the Community Defense Act terms “regularly appear[ing] nude or seminude on the premises.” She was certainly seminude at Sirens Gentlemen’s Club and may have allegedly touched or been touched by a customer. But Law & Crime’s Ronn Blitzer has suggested a possible loophole: Daniels, who lives in Texas, isn’t a regular performer since she was simply making a special appearance at the club as a part of a countrywide tour.

It’s not clear if Avenatti’s allegations that Daniels’s arrest was setup are correct. Depending on the outcome of the case, this may never become fully clear. For now, though, the arrest has ensured that she — and her allegations against Trump — will stay in the news. Daniels is set to be arraigned Friday morning.