CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp Accused of Sexually Assaulting Man at Bar
American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp has been accused of sexually assaulting a man at a bar in a bombshell report released just days before the CPAC's D.C. Convention.
The allegations, first reported by Yashar Ali, claim that Schlapp made multiple bar patrons uncomfortable before groping a man and being kicked out of the bar.
On Saturday, less than two weeks before the CPAC convention that brings in top conservatives to D.C., Schlapp allegedly followed around and stood close to a multiple groups of men in a Virginia bar, making them uncomfortable. After being confronted by some of the men, Schlapp did not stop, and was grazing his body against men while walking past, according to the report.
'Every time I turned around, this guy was right there, one foot behind me,' the alleged victim told Ali. 'And I was just not comfortable with this.'
According to the report, the man's girlfriend confronted Schlapp as well. After the man asked Schlapp to leave, he 'grabbed his genitals while looking him directly in the eyes.'
He was then removed from the bar, but later returned and got into a 'heated confrontation,' witnesses said.
CPAC did not immediately respond for comment.
Long-time Trump backer Schlapp has had sexual misconduct allegations pressed against him before. In 2023, the Daily Beast first reported that a Herschel Walker male staffer claimed that the famed conservative groped him. The staffer, Carlton Huffman, filed a $9 million lawsuit against Schlapp and Mercedes Schlapp, his wife, for battery and defamation. After the allegations were shared with the ACU, Schlapp was never disciplined, according to Ali.
The lawsuit then added two other allegations: one in 2022 and 2017 with no alleged victims named.
After the allegations were added, Huffman released a statement backtracking.
'The claims made in my lawsuits were the result of a complete misunderstanding, and I regret that the lawsuit caused pain to the Schlapp family,' he wrote at the time. 'Neither the Schlapps nor the ACU paid me anything to dismiss my claims against them.'
It was later revealed by CNN that Huffman received a $480,000 settlement through 'an insurance policy.'
Schlapp said in a statement, 'From the beginning, I asserted my innocence... Our family was attacked, especially by a left-wing media that is focused on the destruction of conservatives regardless of the truth and the facts.'
It is unclear what this could mean for the CPAC convention, which starts on Feb. 19. Some of the speakers include Donald Trump, Karoline Leavitt, Ted Cruz, Steve Bannon, Megyn Kelly,
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