Michael Avenatti Arrested on Suspicion of Domestic Violence in Los Angeles

Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who rose to fame representing the pornographic film actress Stephanie Clifford and positioned himself as a crusading critic of President Donald Trump and fierce advocate of women’s rights, was arrested in Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon on suspicion of domestic violence, a spokesman for the city’s Police Department said.

The spokesman for the Los Angeles police, Josh Rubenstein, said Avenatti’s arrest had “stemmed from an incident on the Westside” of the city. Another department spokesman later specified that the episode had happened sometime late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning in the tony neighborhood of Century City, noting that a police report was subsequently taken.

Avenatti was arrested just after 2 p.m. Wednesday and booked into jail on a felony charge of “domestic violence with visible injury” about two hours later, police said. Avenatti was released from jail about 5:30 p.m. local time after posting $50,000 bail.

He is due in court on Dec. 5.

In a brief news conference after his release, Avenatti strongly denied the allegations.

“I have never struck a woman. I never will strike a woman. I have been an advocate for women’s rights my entire career, and I’m going to continue to be an advocate,” he said. “I am not going to be intimidated from stopping what I am doing. I am a father to two beautiful, smart daughters. I would never disrespect them by touching a woman inappropriately or striking a woman. I am looking forward to a full investigation, at which point I am confident that I will be fully exonerated.”

Avenatti, who has toyed with a run for president, rose to prominence in March, when he filed suit on behalf of Clifford, known professionally as Stormy Daniels, seeking to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement she had struck with the president relating to an alleged sexual relationship. Trump has called Avenatti a “third-rate lawyer who is good at making false accusations.”

Avenatti’s Twitter followers have climbed to nearly 900,000, and he has used that platform to broadcast his voice and challenge politicians and news personalities to debates extending from sexual misconduct to immigration policy.

Three hours before his arrest Wednesday, he posted a snide message on Twitter about the president sharing a lawyer with Harvey Weinstein. “Who would have guessed,” he wrote.

Based in Newport Beach, California, Avenatti — 47 and recently divorced — took up residence in a New York City hotel starting last spring, capitalizing on his new fame and becoming a fixture on the cable news circuit.

He has quoted Maya Angelou on women’s rights while labeling the president a misogynist — and calling himself a strong ambassador of feminism who would be well suited to representing the Democratic Party in the 2020 race for president.

Avenatti has filed three suits against the president and Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, this year. Last month, a federal judge dismissed one. But he has also injected himself into matters beyond Clifford’s case against the president.

In September, after multiple women had made public accusations of sexual misconduct by Brett Kavanaugh, now a Supreme Court justice, Avenatti announced on Twitter that he had taken on the case of yet another accuser whom he wanted heard. (That woman’s account was not among those that informed the FBI’s review of the justice’s background.)

The finances of Avenatti’s firm, Eagan Avenatti, have meanwhile come under scrutiny, with a judge putting it in a temporary form of bankruptcy this year. Last month, a California court ordered Avenatti to pay $4.85 million to a lawyer who once did work for his firm.

On Wednesday, upcoming appearances by Avenatti were called off, including two in Vermont sponsored by the state’s Democratic Party. Tickets ranging from $50 to $100 for town-hall-style talks by Avenatti that were due to take place this weekend will be refunded. “The events were canceled immediately upon hearing the news,” said R. Christopher Di Mezzo, communications director for the Vermont Democratic Party.