Inset, left to right: Natalie Greene (Facebook) and Greene when police found her in a New Jersey park following an allegedly staged attack (DOJ). Background: The New Jersey office of Jeff Van Drew, who previously employed Greene as an aide (Google Maps).
A 26-year-old woman in New Jersey and former aide to a Republican congressman is accused of staging a politically-motivated attack on herself, hiring a “body modification” artist to inflict multiple wounds on her body and face, writing “Trump whore” on her stomach, and using zip ties to restrain herself in the woods before blaming the ordeal on three gun-toting men who disagreed with her politics.
Natalie Greene, an ex-aide to Rep. Jeff Van Drew of Ocean City, is facing one count of conspiracy to convey false statements and hoaxes and one count of making false statements to federal law enforcement, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Department of Justice, Greene”s co-conspirator placed a late-night 911 call on July 23, telling the emergency dispatcher that three unknown men had attacked her and Greene while the duo were out walking on a trail at a nature preserve in Egg Harbor Township.
During the 911 call, the co-conspirator was adamant that the alleged attackers were more interested in Greene than her.
“They were more focused on her. Like I had one guy like holding me down and then the other two were on her. And I was able to run away,” the co-conspirator said, per the criminal complaint. “They were talking about politics, she works for [Jeff Van Drew]. They were like calling her like racist, calling her a whore.”
Police responded to the scene, where they found Greene “lying in a wooded area just off the trail, with her hands and feet bound together with black zip ties.” Her shirt had been pulled over her head and secured with another black zip tie.
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“Greene had numerous lacerations on her face, neck, upper chest, and shoulder,” prosecutors wrote in the release. “The words ‘TRUMP WHORE’ were written on her stomach and the words ‘[Van Drew] IS RACIST’ were written on her back. Greene was crying and yelling that one of her alleged attackers had a gun.”
Greene claimed that one or more of her attackers had a gun and “threatened to shoot her.” She also claimed one or more of the attackers “held her down and restrained her movement, cutting her and writing on her body.”
Emergency medical personnel transported Greene to a local hospital for medical treatment to close the lacerations on her face and body. Several days later, she provided another statement about the incident to law enforcement, including an FBI agent. However, investigators said her story soon unraveled.
“The investigation revealed that Greene had not, in fact, been attacked by three men at gunpoint,” the release states. “Instead, Greene had paid a body modification/scarification artist to deliberately cut the lacerations on her face, neck, upper chest, and shoulder, based on a pattern that she had provided beforehand. Law enforcement officers recovered black zip ties in Greene’s car on the night of the alleged attack, similar to the zip ties that had been used to bind Greene’s arms and feet.
Investigators tracked down the body modification artist who provided them with photos of the lacerations he made to Greene’s skin. The professional’s cuts followed the “exact same pattern as the lacerations that were observed on Greene when she was found lying on the ground in the Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve,” prosecutors said.
The criminal complaint noted that Greene drove her Maserati SUV to the nature preserve that evening. Police said Greene’s co-conspirator became “agitated” when investigators said they were going to search the vehicle
Additionally, the investigation revealed that, two days prior to the alleged attack, Greene’s co-conspirator used her cellphone to search “zip ties near me.” Footage from a Dollar General by the co-conspirator’s home allegedly showed her in the store and purchasing the zip ties two days before the alleged attack.
In a statement to the New Jersey Globe, a spokesperson for Van Drew said they were “deeply saddened” by the allegations against Greene and confirmed that she was no longer employed by the congressman.
“While Natalie is no longer associated with the congressman’s government office, our thoughts and prayers are with her and hope she’s getting the care she needs,” the statement said.
Greene appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Pascal on Wednesday and was released after posting a $200,000 unsecured bond. It was not immediately clear when Greene will next be required to appear in court.
