'Real Housewives of Potomac' Stars Monique Samuels and Candiace Dillard's Assault Charges Dropped
Monique Samuels and Candiace Dillard's assault complaints against each other will not move forward.
ET has learned that the assault charges against the Real Housewives of Potomacstars have been dropped by the Montgomery County's State's Attorney's Office. The news comes just over a month after Samuels was charged with second-degree assault following an alleged altercation with Dillard in October. The alleged incident took place during an argument that was caught by Bravo cameras. Samuels filed a counter claim against Dillard in November.
In a statement to ET on Sunday, Samuels' attorney, A. Scott Bolden, said they were "pleased" with the Montgomery County's State's Attorney's Office's decision not to move forward with the charges. "Consistent with her prior bad acts, offensive words and conduct, and her reputation for physical threats and verbal outbursts on the show, through third party interviews and the review of other evidence, the government concluded not to move forward against my client, Mrs. Samuels. And while the government decided not to pursue my clients defensive claim against Candiace, we are very satisfied that justice was done," Bolden said.
"It is our sincerest hope that both parties can move forward without any further judicial actions or involvement and that this dispute can be resolved through mediation or a thoughtful conversation between the parties, without threats, goading or bad behavior that Candiace is so well known for. It was not tolerated during the subject incident, and it will not be tolerated in the future, by my client. To that end, we will work diligently to create a better work environment for all RHOP cast members, that may only be had with more mature and better behavior from Candiace," Bolden continued. "We certainly hope she gets the help she needs so that the parties can avoid any further altercations between the two of them."
Dillard's lawyer, James L. Walker, Jr., meanwhile said in a statement to ET: "[Candiace] has been sadly attacked, physically and personally, by Mrs. Monique Samuels and her legal team! Even today as she is vindicated and there is no proof whatsoever that she committed a crime against her castmate, they are still attacking her. We would hope that Mrs. Samuels is getting help and treatment, as the evidence we saw clearly showed her as the aggressor and bragging about her assault on our client! We are prayerful that all parties can move on now and that Mrs. Samuels and her representatives will cease and desist with the verbal attacks and grandstanding against our client as this decision today releases Mrs. Samuels from criminal prosecution, but a civil court would still most likely find her actions to be legally actionable and considered assault!"
During a November interview with ET, fellow RHOP stars Gizelle Bryant opened up about the drama between her castmates.
"I was actually there, so I was super duper hurt, I was very sad," Bryant said of the pair's alleged fight. "I felt like we're better than this and this is really, really unnecessary."
"We are going to see it play out and I'm curious to see how it does play out. But always feel like we, as women, especially as black women, we are better than anything physical," she added.
See more in the video below.
Reporting by Mannie Holmes.
RELATED CONTENT:
'RHOP' Stars Weigh In on Candiace Dillard and Monique Samuels' Legal Drama (Exclusive)
'RHOP' Star Monique Samuels Charged With Assault Following Alleged Fight With Candiace Dillard
'RHOP': Karen Huger and Monique Samuels Sound Off on 'Messy' Season of Darby Drama (Exclusive)
Related Articles:
