RHOP’ Monique Samuels Charged With Assault Following Alleged Fight With Candiace Dillard
Monique Samuels has been charged with assault following an alleged fight with her Real Housewives of Potomac co-star, Candiace Dillard.
Samuels, 36, has been charged with second-degree assault according to a summons from the District Court of Montgomery County in Maryland, ET confirms. Dillard, 32, filed a complaint on Thursday, stemming from an alleged incident on Oct. 16. Samuels has been issued a summons to appear in court on Dec. 23.
According to People, Samuels and Dillard were at a dinner party with their RHOP castmates when Samuels allegedly grabbed Dillard by the hair and pulled her down. The outlet reports that Bravo cameras filmed the incident for the show’s upcoming fifth season.
At this time, we do not want to say too much and just allow the criminal process to play out. We only ask everyone to pray for our client Candiace and her family,” Dillard’s personal attorney, James L. Walker, Jr., said in a statement to People. “The physical assault, humiliation and emotional distress have all been very painful and difficult for Candiace, as it would be for anyone attacked so viciously.”
“We also pray that Monique will get some help. The summons to court charge of Second Degree Assault is just one step below first-degree assault and must be taken very seriously. This behavior has no place in our society,” Walker continued, asking that “everyone respect the privacy of the parties and allow the Montgomery County District Court to exercise its duty here to protect victims like Candiace.”
Samuels’ attorney, A. Scott Bolden, meanwhile told the outlet that Dillard’s claims are “completely one-sided, inaccurate and unwarranted.” “Ms. Dillard has a public reputation for aggressive, belligerent and threatening behavior that has played out repeatedly on the Housewives of Potomac for millions of viewers to see for themselves,” Bolden said.
“To be sure, my client did nothing but defend herself in the face of more very aggressive behavior by Ms. Dillard. If this event occurred during taping of the show, I am confident that the video will bear all of this out. My client has every right to file for a counter criminal summons, as well, and will consider doing so, while fully defending herself in this action that has been filed with the Court,” he concluded. “Either way, I am confident that she will prevail on this matter. Going forward, we hope that Ms. Dillard seeks the help she needs to avoid creating these kinds of unsafe and unfortunate circumstances in and outside of the workplace.”
