In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in North Carolina, a former Donald J. Trump For President staffer claims he was harassed by the campaign’s former state director for North Carolina, who jabbed a loaded gun at his knee. The staffer, Vincent Bordini, had worked on the campaign for three months as a software trainer. Bordini alleges that when he reported his former boss’ misconduct to the Trump campaign, they refused to intervene. The lawsuit names both the North Carolina State Director, Earl Phillip, and Donald J. Trump For President, Inc. as defendants.
Bordini told the Daily News that he decided to file the lawsuit after the Trump campaign failed to act in his defense. “I just wanted the campaign to care,” he said. According to the lawsuit, Bordini was driving with Phillip after a Feb. 13 campaign event when his manager silently “produced a pistol, put his right index finger on the trigger, and drove the barrel into Vincent’s knee cap.” Later that same day, Bordini says he reported the incident to the Trump Campaign’s Regional Director of Western North Carolina:
“The director told Vincent that he, too, had been brandished upon by Phillip. He was terrified… Vincent came to hear of at least four other individuals on whom Phillip had pulled a gun. Vincent eventually described the incident to Trump Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski. In response, the Trump Campaign neither terminated nor suspended Phillip. In fact, at the time of filing, Philip continues to work for the Trump Campaign.”
Phillips stepped down from the campaign Thursday, after news of the lawsuit broke. Just last week, Phillips left his post in North Carolina to accept a national position with the campaign’s diversity coalition. In a statement to Charlotte’s CW affiliate WCCB, the former state director said, “I have also stepped down from all affiliation with any and all organizations associated with Donald J. Trump for President to include the campaign and National Diversity Coalition for Trump.”
(Via New York Daily News, WBTV 3 and WCCB Charlotte)