A former congressional staffer in New Jersey is facing charges for allegedly faking a brutal assault on herself, then blaming anti-Trump enemies and claiming the attack was because of her work with Republicans.

Federal prosecutors say 26-year-old Natalie Greene of Ocean City orchestrated every brutal detail of the hoax, even enlisting a female accomplice to cut her repeatedly, write anti-Trump messages on her body and then bind her with zip ties. She then had her co-conspirator make the call to 911.

On the night of July 23, 2025, Ms. Greene’s accomplice contacted emergency services, claiming that she and Ms. Greene had been assaulted by three men while walking on a trail at an Egg Harbor Township nature preserve, according to the criminal complaint. The accomplice stated that during the alleged attack that the assailants knew Ms. Greene by name and made specific references to her work with “Federal Official 1,” whose identity is known to authorities.

When officers responded to the call, they found Ms. Greene lying in a wooded area just off a hiking trail with her hands and feet bound with black zip ties with numerous cuts to her face and body. She also had the words, “TRUMP WHORE” scrawled across her stomach in marker and “[Federal Official 1] IS RACIST” across her back. As they approached, she was seen crying and yelling that one of the attackers had a gun. She then told them they had threatened to shoot before they pinned her to the ground and began cutting her and writing hateful messages across her body.

Investigators quickly determined that no such attack had taken place and that Ms. Greene had orchestrated the entire scene. The officers found black zip ties in her car that night, matching those used to bind her arms and feet. Further investigation revealed that her co-conspirator had used her phone to search for “zip ties near me” and that Ms. Greene had even paid a scarification artist to carve deliberate lacerations across her face, neck, chest, and shoulder.

While the criminal complaint does not name the member of congress, records uncovered by New Jersey 101.5 show that she served as an intern for the congressman for the state’s 2nd district, Jefferson Van Drew, until 2023. She then became an aide and advanced to constituent advocate director for his office in June 2024.

“We are deeply saddened by today’s news, and while Natalie is no longer associated with the Congressman’s government office, our thoughts and prayers are with her,” a spokesperson for Mr. Van Drew’s office said in a statement to the local news radio station. “We hope she’s getting the care she needs.” 

Ms. Greene has been charged with conspiracy and filing a false report to law-enforcement and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and $500,000 in fines.