A conservative leader is accused of sexually groping a male member of Herschel Walker’s failed Senate campaign, in October.
The accusation, first reported by the Daily Beast, was confirmed Friday by NBC News.
The New York Post further reported:
Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, has been accused by a staffer of Herschel Walker’s Georgia Senate campaign of “unwanted and unsolicited” sexual contact after a night of drinking.
The alleged incident happened in October as Schlapp and the Republican aide bar-hopped in Atlanta after a Walker campaign event, according to the accuser, who spoke to the Daily Beast and NBC News on the condition of anonymity on Friday.
The accuser claims Schlapp inappropriately and repeatedly intruded his personal space at the bars, and when the staffer, described as a married man in his late thirties, drove the powerful conservative back to his hotel, Schlapp put his hand on his leg and “fondled” his crotch.
The staffer made contemporaneous video recordings of his reaction to what he called a “scarring” and “humiliating” incident, which he shared with both news outlets.
“Matt Schlapp of the CPAC grabbed my junk and pummeled it at length, and I’m sitting there thinking what the hell is going on, that this person is literally doing this to me,” the staffer says in one of the recordings.
“To my shame, I did not say ‘no’ or ‘stop,’” the staffer added. “God knows it was not a wanted advance.”
The staffer said that Schlapp invited him up to his room when the two arrived at his hotel, but he declined and tried to get away as quickly as possible.
He relayed the story to senior members of Walker’s campaign staff in the morning who suggested he let Schlapp know in writing that his behavior made him uncomfortable.
The staffer was supposed to drive Schlapp around the morning after the alleged incident but the Walker campaign arranged for a different driver. Schlapp reportedly skipped the event he was supposed to attend the following morning.
“I did want to say I was uncomfortable with what happened last night,” the staffer reportedly texted Schlapp, to which the ACU leader responded, “Pls give me a call.”
When the staffer refused to answer three phone calls from Schlapp, he sent another text, telling him, “If you could see it in your heart to call me at the end of day. I would appreciate it,” followed by another text wishing him “luck on the campaign” and telling him to “keep up the good work.”
A senior Walker campaign official said the allegation “makes me physically ill,” according to NBC News.
The staffer and the senior official both told the news outlet that the Walker campaign made legal counsel available to the accuser but that he hasn’t pursued legal action against Schlapp.
The Post has reached out to Schlapp for comment.
Schlapp, 55, is married to former President Donald Trump’s White House Director of Strategic Communications Mercedes Schlapp. The couple have five children together.
Matt Schlapp’s American Conservative Union is the organization that hosts the annual Conservative Political Action Committee conference, known as CPAC, which hosts prominent Republican politicians and thought leaders and draws thousands of attendees every year.
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