A former North Carolina staffer for Donald Trump's presidential campaign is claiming in a lawsuit that its then-state director pulled a gun on him and that senior campaign officials refused to do anything about it.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday by Vincent Bordini against Earl Phillip and the Trump campaign in Mecklenburg County Superior Court.
It alleges that Bordini — described as a "dedicated, loyal Trump campaign staffer" — and Phillip were in Phillip's Jeep in February of this year when Phillip "produced a pistol, put his right index finger on the trigger and drove the barrel into Vincent's knee cap."
Bordini claimed that Phillip's gun was loaded and the safety was off. It was only after Bordini asked "What the f--- are you doing" that Phillip put the gun away as if nothing had happened.
He told NBC News on Thursday that the action was seemingly random. "We weren't in any confrontation or fight. There was no argument in the vehicle," Bordini said. He added that after the gun was put away, the two of them drove to the office to a hotel, a few minutes away, in silence. After that, "I began avoiding him as much as possible," Bordini explained.
He said soon after that, he told Trump campaign's regional director of Western North Carolina, who admitted Phillip had also pulled a gun on him, too.
Bordini claims he also told Stuart Jolly, who at the time was Trump campaign's national field director, in addition to Trump's former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. Neither, Bordini alleges, did anything about it.
Jolly told NBC News that he never spoke directly to Bordini but when he heard about the incident, he alerted Trump's lawyers and thought the matter had been dealt with. Team Trump and Phillip did not immediately return requests for comment.
Phillip, who left his job as state director last week to become deputy chair of Trump's National Diversity Coalition, told Charlotte station WCCB, that he has stepped down from his new role.
"I have retained legal counsel. I have also stepped down from all affiliation with any and all organizations associated with Donald J. Trump for President to include the campaign and National Diversity Coalition for Trump," he said.
The lawsuit says Bordini decided "putting his head down and soldiering on was the best thing that he could do for Mr. Trump." He is alleging "assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress."
In terms of what type of compensation he wants, Bordini said "It's up to a jury," adding he was extremely disappointed in the Trump campaign for turning a blind eye. "They should have handled the situation before all of this," he said.
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