A Republican congressional staffer has been charged with conspiracy and making false statements to law enforcement after she claimed she was assaulted at gunpoint and her attackers wrote “Trump Whore” on her body.

Natalie Greene, 26, a former aide to Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), told police and the FBI in July that she and a friend were taking a late-night hike through a nature preserve in New Jersey when three unidentified men attacked her, binding her hands and feet with zip ties.

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She told the cops one of the men had a gun.

Greene’s companion on the walk, an unnamed co-conspirator in the case, called 911.

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“They were attacking her” she told the operator. “They were like talking about politics and stuff. They were like calling her names.”

“They were like calling her like racist, calling her a whore,” she added.

Police found Greene writhing on the ground screaming, with her shirt pulled over her head. Cuts and lacerations covered her head, neck, chest, and shoulders, and the words “Trump Whore” were written across her stomach in black marker. “Van Drew is Racist” was written on her back.

Greene said the “three guys” addressed her by name, with one threatening to kill her if she made any noise.

The men held her down and cut into her, Greene claimed.

The episode, it turns out, was a hoax, authorities determined.

Investigators learned that Greene had visited a “body modification/scarification artist” to deliberately cut the lacerations on her body, based on a pattern that she’d provided herself, prosecutors said. 

Law enforcement officers also recovered black zip ties in Greene’s car on the night of the alleged attack, similar to those used to bind the woman’s arms and feet. 

Two days earlier, investigators learned, Greene’s co-conspirator had used her cell phone to search for “zip ties near me.”

Greene made her first appearance in federal court last week and faces a maximum five years’ imprisonment and $250,000 fine for conspiracy to convey false statements and hoaxes, and the same for making false statements to law enforcement. She was released on a $200,000 bond.

“We are deeply saddened by today’s news, and while Natalie is no longer associated with the Congressman’s government office, our thoughts and prayers are with her,” Paxton Antonucci, a spokesperson for Van Drew’s office told The Hill. “We hope she’s getting the care she needs.”

Donald Trump’s pick to run the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey, Acting U.S. Attorney and Special Attorney Alina Habba, announced the charges on Wednesday.

Habba, Trump’s former personal lawyer, was appointed acting head of the office in March to avoid a confirmation fight, but she’s continued in the temporary post despite a 120-day limit. The Justice Department added Habba’s “Special Attorney” title in an effort to keep her in the role as she faces legal challenges to step down.

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