What You Need to Know About the Donald Trump Rape Lawsuit — and the Accuser Who Claims He Raped Her When She Was 13 BY DIANE HERBST•@DIANEHERBST
UPDATED NOVEMBER 3, 2016 AT 5:12PM EDT
An attorney helping an anonymous California woman accusing Donald Trump in a federal lawsuit of raping her in the ’90s when she was 13 announced that the woman would go public for the first time Wednesday.
But as the press conference was about to begin in the California offices of attorney Lisa Bloom, Bloom called it off, citing threats to the plaintiff, known in court papers as Jane Doe.
“Jane Doe has received numerous threats today … She has decided she is too afraid to show her face,” Bloom said, according to the tweets of MSNBC/NBC reporter Irin Carmon. “We’re going to have to reschedule. I apologize to all of you who came. I have nothing further.”
Two hours later, Bloom, the daughter of renowned women’s rights lawyer Gloria Allred, tweeted: “Our firm’s website was reportedly hacked today, as well as emails. Anonymous claims responsibility.”
As this story continues to develop, here’s everything you should know about Trump’s accuser and the rape lawsuit she’s filed against him:
Jane Doe accuses Trump of raping her during the summer of 1994 when she was 13, allegedly in the home of Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted pedophile also named in the lawsuit.
She also claims that: “Immediately following this rape, Defendant Trump threatened me that, were I ever to reveal any of the details of Defendant Trump’s sexual and physical abuse of me, my family and I would be physically harmed if not killed.”
Alan Garten, vice president and general counsel for the Trump Organization, did not return a call for comment to PEOPLE. But Garten has repeatedly and vehemently denied the allegations, telling the New York Daily News they were “categorically untrue, completely fabricated and politically motivated.”
Jane Doe’s legal team has been beefed up in the last few weeks, with the additions of high-profile Florida defense attorney Cheney Mason (Casey Anthony’s co-counsel), and veteran New Jersey civil litigation attorney Evan Goldman, according to court filings. Bloom is handling the media aspects of the case since both she and the plaintiff are on the West Coast, Goldman tells PEOPLE.
WATCH: A Look at the Accusations of Sexual Misconduct Against Donald Trump
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United States District Judge Ronnie Abrams has ordered both sides to appear for an initial status conference on Dec. 16 at U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The lawsuit seeks $75,000 in damages.
These moves come after the plaintiff filed an amended complaint on Sept. 30 that includes a witness, “Joan Doe,” who states that during the 1994-95 school year, the plaintiff told her she was “subject to sexual contact” by Trump and Epstein.
The complaint also contains a declaration from a Tiffany Doe, who claims she was a party planner for Epstein and charged with finding attractive adolescent women to attend his parties.
Tiffany allegedly met the plaintiff at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and persuaded her to attend the parties as a way to make connections that would launch her modeling career.
Tiffany allegedly witnessed Trump have four sexual encounters with the plaintiff, including one “where Mr. Trump forcibly raped her despite her pleas to stop.”
This is the third time the plaintiff has alleged in court filings that Trump raped her when she was 13. Her case has been riddled with skepticism because she’s been connected to questionable supporters, and she won’t speak to or meet with reporters, according to numerous accounts.
The first time she filed was in California and without an attorney; the case was dismissed.
Her public backers surrounding that filing reportedly include Steve Baer, a Republican donor, according to the Huffington Post.
Another reported early backer was Norm Lubow, a former producer for The Jerry Springer Show who allegedly went by the name “Al Taylor,” according to The Guardian.
Acting as a representative for the plaintiff, “Taylor” had been shopping a video of a woman who wears a disguise while recounting the allegations against Trump, the paper states. PEOPLE was unable to reach Lubow for comment.
Baer, according to the Huffington Post is a “leading organizer” of the website Justice For Katie, which is raising funds for her defense and contains a video of her (in disguise) describing her encounters with Trump.
The videographer who taped Katie writes on the site that an “Al Taylor” was there with Katie during the filming.
When asked about how Lubow aka “Taylor” may have hurt the plaintiff’s credibility, Goldman said: “I can tell you he is no way involved currently with the case, the client or any of the attorneys. Whatever was done with him, I know he is not involved at all in our case currently.”
RELATED VIDEO: New Accuser Tearfully Alleges Trump Assaulted Her at U.S. Open: He Said, ‘Don’t You Know Who I Am?’
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In June, going by the name Jane Doe, the plaintiff filed for a second time, this time in New York, with New Jersey attorney Thomas Meagher. That suit was withdrawn and the amended complaint of Sept. 30 was filed.
The actual existence of the plaintiff as well as her claims have been questioned in various media reports.
“I can tell you she exists,” her newest attorney, Goldman, who came on board Nov. 1, tells PEOPLE.
A June story in Jezebel states that Meagher met Jane Doe.
“I reached Meagher by phone on the afternoon of June 23,” the story states. “He said he’d flown out to meet with Johnson in California and had spoken with her after that by phone and FaceTime. ‘I’ve gotten to know her quite well,’ he told me.”
Calls and emails to Meagher, Bloom and Mason have not been returned.
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