Lawsuit: Trump's NC campaign director pointed gun at aide

WASHINGTON – A former paid worker for Donald Trump's presidential bid has accused the campaign's North Carolina state director of pointing a loaded handgun at him.

Vincent Bordini filed a civil lawsuit Wednesday in state court against the Trump campaign and recent state director Earl Phillip. The lawsuit alleges assault and battery, seeking monetary damages for emotional distress. Bordini also says Trump's national campaign leadership refused to address the February incident.

Wednesday's lawsuit -- first reported by WBTV in Charlotte -- says Bordini and Phillip were traveling by car in South Carolina when the campaign director suddenly pulled out a gun and pressed the barrel to his kneecap.

Phillip told The Associated Press Wednesday he had recently resigned as both state campaign director and as deputy chair of Trump's National Diversity Coalition. "I stepped down from ... all affiliations with Donald J. Trump until this is cleared up," said Phillip, who is black.

He referred further questions to his lawyer.

In his lawsuit, Bordini alleges Phillip also pulled his gun on at least four other people within the Trump organization. The behavior was so widely recognized within the campaign that others knew the caliber of his gun, the lawsuit says.

According to the lawsuit, Bordini "felt he could not tell anyone about the incident due to Phillip's reputation for violent outbursts, intimidation and retaliation. Vincent believed that he could not trust his own supervisor, Stuart Jolly, out of fear that he would try to cover up what had happened."

"Vincent forewent alerting authorities because putting Mr. Trump in the White House was his goal. But enough is enough," the lawsuit states. "Guns don't have to fire to inflict damage. Vincent couldn't sleep after the incident. If Phillip had flinched, Vincent might have never been able to properly walk again."

Bordini's lawsuit says the aide was so fearful Phillip might retaliate against him for reporting the incident within the campaign he temporarily moved his family out of their house so they would be harder to find.

The lawsuit says he resigned from the campaign in March.

"Vincent became disgusted with the Trump campaign's lack of corrective action. He could no longer tolerate working in an environment where his superior could pull a gun on him at any moment," the lawsuit states.

According to Federal Election Commission filings, Bordini was on the Trump campaign payroll from December through February, earning about $1,000 every two weeks. The campaign last paid him in mid-March when he was reimbursed for travel expenses.

Phillip became the campaign's North Carolina state director in November. Since then, the Trump campaign has paid Phillip's consulting business, Innovative Consulting Services, nearly $65,000 for campaign field consulting. Those payments include about $9,500 in late June, federal filings show.