Miss United States accuses congressman of revenge porn threat
Lindsey Langston, the 2024 winner of the beauty pageant, also claimed that Cory Mills, a representative for central Florida, threatened to harm her future romantic partners, according to a police report filed in the state.
According to the July 14 report, which was made public this week, the 25-year-old told authorities that her romantic relationship with Mr Mills started in 2021 and ended in February.
Mr Mills then allegedly contacted Ms Langston, who is expected to compete at Miss Universe in November, 'numerous times' and threatened to release explicit images of her and videos of her engaging in sexual acts, the report said.
The alleged threats were made when the congressman believed Ms Langston 'to have other romantic partners in her life after the breakup', the report added.
It also noted that she shared messages allegedly backing up her claims.
No charges have been filed and Mr Mills, 45, denied the allegations on Wednesday.
At the time they met, Mr Mills was still married but had separated from his wife, and he told Ms Langston that the divorce would be finalised in 2024, she claimed.
Mr Mills, an Army veteran who received a Bronze Star for his service in Iraq, represents a district north-east of Orlando and was elected to a second term in Congress in 2024.
In January, the staunch supporter of Donald Trump, spoke openly about running for senate until Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, appointed Ashley Moody instead.
Ms Langston, who is a Republican state committee member, said she moved out of Mr Mills' home earlier this year following news reports that police investigated an assault by the representative against a different woman described as his 'girlfriend' in Washington.
Both Mr Mills and the woman denied that any assault took place, and the congressman was not charged in the incident.
'Political attack'
Responding to Ms Langston's allegations, Mr Mills said: 'These claims are false and misrepresent the nature of my interactions. I have always conducted myself with integrity, both personally and in service to Florida's 7th District.'
Instead, he claimed that the accusations were a 'political attack' crafted by Anthony Sabatini, his former political rival, 'to score political headlines'.
Mr Sabatini, who ran against the Florida Republican in a 2022 GOP primary for the House seat, is also serving as Ms Langston's lawyer, Politico reported.
He posted alleged screenshots of the threats that Mr Mills made towards Ms Langston on social media on Wednesday and claimed that she had filed a restraining order, which has not been confirmed.
Mr Mills statement said: 'Anthony Sabatini is weaponising the legal system to launch a political attack against the man who beat him in the primary, using his corporate legal office to push a narrative built on lies and flawed legal arguments – all to score political headlines.'
Mr Sabatini's response was limited to a social media post stating: 'Mills must resign.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Inside Trump and Putin's relationship, their power moves, and how the Russian leader broke the 'alpha bro code'
Their crunch meeting is set for Friday, the venue will be Alaska, and when they get there Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will be watching each other like hawks for signs of weakness. Tensions are on a knife edge with Trump demanding Putin agree to an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, two U.S. nuclear submarines heading toward Russia, and ominous threats about doomsday weapons emanating from Moscow. As they encounter each other in person for the first time since 2019, the demeanor of both men will be key as they try to gain the upper hand. According to body language expert Judi James, who has studied their previous meetings, Trump's most effective weapon could turn out to be humor, which he may use to disarm and belittle Putin. 'Putin seems more than comfortable being on the receiving end of frosty greetings,' she told the Daily Mail. Trump and Putin met six times during the U.S. President's first term. Initially, Trump appeared successful in recruiting Putin into a kind of 'global alpha men's club,' James said. But, more recently, Putin has ditched their 'bromance,' leaving Trump disappointed and frustrated. 'Trump's meetings with Putin work at a visceral level rather than an intellectual one,' James said. 'His body language narrative has been the classic story of alpha v. alpha... flaunting personal strength and power to seduce Putin into a state of the mutual respect. 'Unfortunately for Trump though, Putin is whip-smart when it comes to body language. Putin broke the alpha bro code and it will be fascinating to see how Trump now deals with him on a purely man-to-man level.' Here is an analysis of some of their previous key encounters, and what their body language tells us about the inner workings of their relationship. 2017: G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany It was an awkward start when the two leaders held their first meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit. 'They appeared to put in considerable effort to look distant and out of sorts with each other,' said James. 'Trump sat on the edge of his seat, his head slumped, making the back of his jacket ripple up like a wave behind his neck.' But Trump went on to use two key 'power moves' on Putin. First, he began feigning apparent disinterest in his opposite number, blinking and slowly looking around the room, anywhere but at the Russian president. Second, Trump shot out his arm to perform a 'hand platter' shake, with his palm facing up. That forced Putin to lean across and put his hand on top of Trump's, with the US. President gripping it and determining the length of the handshake. Putin adopted a 'vaguely compliant air' during the formal photographs, looking down with a 'miserable expression.' Trump repeated the 'hand platter' shake to show who was in charge. 2018: Helsinki The two men held two hours of talks behind closed doors. At a joint press conference President Trump then contradicted his own intelligence agencies, suggesting there was 'no reason' why Russia would have interfered in the 2016 U.S. election. 'By now Trump and Putin seemed to have had a meeting of alpha minds, with their choreographed, mirrored poses suggested like-minded thinking,' James said. 'They both stood with their chests puffed like Marvel superheroes, it looked like the perfect alpha pairing.' However, there was then a 'dramatic mood change' from Putin. 'It was noticeable that Putin's poses of relaxed and open confidence had vanished," James said. Trump this time offered a normal handshake with his palm turned inward. But when they shook, there was a 'look of wary eye-to-eye confrontation' suggesting a 'complex truce.' James said: 'They glared like boxers before a fight and both performed a lip-clamp to suggest firmness and resolution. 'The grasp looked tight, with Trump's knuckles going white and, importantly, Putin's left hand remain curled round his chair arm, suggesting he had no intention of being rocked off balance by one of Trump's jerking, yanking power shakes.' When Putin gave Trump a soccer ball as a gift, the U.S president held it 'stiffly' before throwing it to Melania. 2019: Osaka When Trump and Putin last met in person in Osaka, Japan in 2019, their 'bromance' was still superficially on track. Putin walked into the room and Trump threw both arms out to 'signal he felt he was greeting an old friend,' said James. 'There was a lack of fundamental mirroring here though,' she added. 'Putin's back was ramrod straight while Trump looked less formal.' Once again, Trump's handshake was telling. He extended his hand for a tight clasp and then performed a 'shake and yank,' attempting to pull Putin towards him to establish control. However Putin did not budge. 'There was smiling on both sides though to register an established friendship,' said James. 'Putin showed he could joke with Trump in English, and Trump performed preening gestures to suggest he was enjoying trading jokes with a fellow alpha. 'Trump's body language tactics tend to be basic and earthy. He is a great power-player with his power pats and power shakes.' But such rituals that 'seem so important to Trump seem to mean very little to Putin long-term,' she said.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Trump news at a glance: Lutnick threatens Harvard patents; former Fox commentator bound for UN
The Trump administrations has threatened Harvard's lucrative portfolio of patents amid its long-running dispute with the university, accusing it of breaching legal and contractual requirements tied to federally funded research. In a letter, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick demanded that Harvard provide within four weeks a list of all patents stemming from federally funded research grants, including how the patents are used and whether any licensing requires 'substantial US manufacturing'. Harvard did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Many civil rights experts, faculty and White House critics believe the Trump administration's targeting of schools for supposedly failing to address antisemitism on campus is a pretext to assert federal control and threaten academic freedom and free speech. In his letter to Harvard, Lutnick also said the commerce department had begun a 'march-in' process under the federal Bayh-Dole Act that could let the government take ownership of the patents or grant licenses. As of 1 July 2024, Harvard held more than 5,800 patents, and had more than 900 technology licenses with over 650 industry partners, according to the Harvard Office of Technology Development. Read the full story Donald Trump said on Saturday he was nominating former Fox News commentator Tammy Bruce as the next US deputy representative to the United Nations. Bruce has been serving as the chief spokesperson for the state department since Trump took office this year. Trump said Bruce, who had no prior foreign policy experience before becoming spokesperson in January, 'will represent our country brilliantly at the United Nations'. Read the full story The removal of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) commissioner Billy Long after just two months came after the federal tax collection agency said it could not release some information on taxpayers suspected of being in the US illegally, it was reported on Saturday. The Washington Post reported the Department of Homeland Security had sent the IRS a list of 40,000 names that it suspected of being in the country illegally. DHS asked the tax service to crosscheck confidential taxpayer data to verify their addresses. The IRS reportedly responded that it was able to verify fewer than 3% of the names on the DHS list, but declined requests for further information, citing taxpayer privacy rights. Read the full story Extreme GOP gerrymanders have remade American politics over the last 15 years. They have locked Republicans into office in state legislatures nationwide, even in purple states when Democratic candidates win more votes. They have delivered a reliable and enduring edge to the GOP in the race for Congress. How did we get here? How did gerrymandered lines, rather than voters, gain the power to determine winners and losers? Read the full story The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, recently shared a video in which several pastors say women should no longer be allowed to vote, prompting one progressive evangelical organization to express concern. Hegseth reposted a nearly seven-minute report CNN segment on X on Thursday that focuses on pastor Doug Wilson, a Christian nationalist. In the segment, he raises the idea of women not voting. Doug Pagitt, a pastor and the executive director of the progressive evangelical organization Vote Common Good, said the ideas in the video were views that 'small fringes of Christians keep' and said it was 'very disturbing' that Hegseth would amplify them. Read the full story Vinay Prasad is returning to his role overseeing vaccine, gene therapy and blood product regulation at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) a little more than a week after he left the agency. Two days before Prasad stepped down last month, Laura Loomer, a far-right influencer and conspiracy theorist, had released misleadingly edited audio to suggest Prasad had admitted sticking pins in a Trump voodoo doll, when the full audio made it clear that he was talking about the kind of thing an imagined liberal Trump-hater would do. Prasad is an oncologist who was a fierce critic of US Covid-19 vaccines and mask mandates. Read the full story A Georgia man who opened fire on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta on Friday, killing a police officer, had blamed a Covid-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal, a law enforcement official said. Documents filed recently in the New Orleans Roman Catholic archdiocese's five-year bankruptcy case provide more clarity on how claims will be doled out to survivors of clergy abuse if a proposed settlement is approved. Catching up? Here's what happened on 8 August 2025.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: We wish Trump well in his valiant bid for a just and lasting peace
Borders can change. When Presidents Trump and Putin meet in Alaska on Friday, they will be on territory which was once part of the Russian Empire. Moscow sold it to Washington in 1867 for a bargain price, partly because they were afraid that either Britain or the USA would grab it anyway if they did not. But since the aggressive horrors of the Second World War, there has been a general agreement that we should leave borders – above all in Europe – where they are. Most especially, we should not reward the illegal seizure of ground by armed force. This is a good principle, though it has been bent, if not actually broken, since the founding of the UN in San Francisco 80 years ago. Now it is being tested very severely. Vladimir Putin's criminal invasion of Ukraine was, and remains, a bloody and destructive action which should live in infamy. Thanks to wartime secrecy on both sides, we do not know the true scale of the horror, only that it is great. War deaths and other casualties are state secrets, and we can only guess at their size by looking at satellite pictures of the vast graveyards on either side of the frontline. Civilians, too, have suffered appallingly. Multitudes have become destitute refugees. Ukraine's economic sinews have been mangled and maimed by cynical Russian bombing, clearly intended to drive a once-prosperous country back into the pre-industrial age. Donald Trump, very reasonably, wants to stop these miseries and he has made it plain to Putin that he will hit the Russian economy where it hurts if he carries on with his aggression. But the lonely despot in the Kremlin is demanding a heavy price in return, especially the surrender of large slices of territory and the end of Ukraine's Nato ambitions. Mr Trump has spoken rather bafflingly of 'some swapping of territories to the betterment of both'. But Ukraine does not hold any significant Russian territory, while Russia has seized large portions of Ukraine and continues to eat away at its land each week. Even now, no more than 38 per cent of Ukraine's population would even consider ceding some of that land for peace. This is a big softening since 2023, but many of the remaining 62 per cent will always remain resolutely opposed to any such thing, and Ukraine's President Zelensky is among them. He is rightly suspicious of any talks which exclude him from the table. It is rumoured that Putin has offered a ceasefire in return for Ukraine handing over the eastern territories of Donetsk and Luhansk. But this is plainly not the end of his demands. Any such armistice would trigger more talks on the rest of the land Russia has grabbed – talks which Zelensky would rightly fear. Ukraine cannot easily fight off new Russian gains without the support of the USA and Europe's Nato powers. But America and Europe alike are worried that they must choose between a shabby deal or a much more intensive and dangerous war with Russia. It is a nasty mess. Credit must go to Donald Trump for continuing to try to resolve it. We must all wish and hope for a just and lasting peace. But with the current balance of forces, it is very hard to see how such a compromise can be reached.
