Lindsay Lohan assaulted in NYC
Lindsay Lohan tussles with congressional staffer in Manhattan hotel room over cellphone photos, tells cops he choked her
California man Christian LaBella initially arrested and charged with assault and harassment in W Hotel Union Square scuffle, but now both of them are facing charges.
By Barry Paddock , Joanna Molloy AND Tracy Connor / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Lindsay Lohan got into a scuffle with a congressional staffer over cellphone pictures. She told cops he tried to choke her.
Another day, another Lindsay Lohan drama.
The “Mean Girls” actress mixed it up with a starstruck congressional staffer in her Manhattan hotel early Sunday — and now both of them are facing charges.
Cops say Lohan took Christian LaBella’s cellphone so she could delete pictures of her partying — and he got physical with her trying to get it back.
After Lohan called the cops, LaBella was initially charged with misdemeanor assault for Sunday’s blowup at the W Hotel Union Square.
But law enforcement sources said the assault rap will be dropped — and LaBella, 25, and Lohan, 26, will both be hit with low-level harassment violations.
It would be Lohan’s second legal scrape in as many weeks, coming on the heels of her arrest for leaving the scene of a minor car accident.
“She’s very shaken up,” Lohan’s mother, Dina, told the Daily News on Sunday afternoon as she comforted the troubled starlet.
“Thank God he didn’t have a weapon.”
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via Facebook
Christian LaBella, 25, is charged with misdemeanor assault and harassment on Lindsay Lohan. The incident occurred at the W Hotel early Sunday morning.
Lohan met LaBella — who is from Valley Village, Calif., but has been working in Washington — while hanging out with friends at the trendy club 1Oak.
It’s unclear if she already knew LaBella, who works for Republican Rep. John Shimkus of Illinois and is the nephew of comedian Heather McDonald.
After the club closed, the actress and LaBella wound up back in her room at the W with other friends, including celebrity booker Claus Hjelmbak.
At about 6 a.m., she took LaBella’s cellphone and got upset after discovering pictures of herself, taken earlier in the evening, police sources said.
LaBella demanded she return the phone, but Lohan balked — and told cops he threw her down on the bed and scratched her.
She ran out of the 15th floor room and scurried down several flights of stairs, with Hjelmbak in tow.
When the “Mean Girls” star and her hunky pal began walking back up the stairs, they again encountered LaBella, sources said.
She claimed that he choked her from behind and threw her to the floor before Hjelmbak yanked him away, cops said. Lohan pulled the fire alarm for help as he fled, police said.
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via Facebook
LaBella has a photo of himself with Paul Ryan as his Facebook profile picture.
Cops who responded spoke to Lohan and began looking for LaBella, who was trapped in the stairwell because the alarm had disabled the elevators.
As he exited the stairwell, police grabbed him. Lohan identified him as her attacker, and he was taken to the 13th Precinct stationhouse.
The assault charge was to be tossed hours later because Lohan refused medical attention and did not appear to be seriously hurt, sources said.
They filed harassment complaints against each other — but the charge is so minor they won’t even have to appear in court, sources said.
LaBella left the stationhouse without speaking to reporters and his family could not be reached for comment — but his boss isn’t too happy about being dragged into the mess.
“While no one from Congressman Shimkus’ office has been contacted by Mr. LaBella following his arrest, he has been an employee in the Congressman’s Washington office,” the pol confirmed in an email.
“Obviously, the Congressman does not condone his actions.”
LaBella’s Facebook page has photos of him mugging with two other prominent Republicans — vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan and erstwhile presidential candidate Herman Cain.
His aunt, a writer for Chelsea Handler’s E! show, posed as Sarah Palin to endorse him for president of his fraternity in a YouTube video.
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via Facebook
LaBella, seen here with Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner, reportedly works for Republican Congressman John Shimkus of Illinois.
On LaBella’s Facebook page, there are also photos of him at celebrity events and posing with reality TV’s Kardashian clan. It appears that he had a couple of bit parts as a child actor.
Lohan’s father, Michael, had not spoken to his daughter but had a message for her antagonist.
“Wait ’til I get this guy,” he said.
The attack was just the latest bit of drama for LiLo, who is still on probation from a necklace-theft case in California.
She was charged on Sept. 19 with leaving the scene of an accident after clipping a cook with a borrowed Porsche outside a Chelsea club.
And last Sunday she wound up in a Manhattan emergency room with a chest infection.
With Rocco Parascandola, Carson Griffith, Vera Chinese, Jennifer H. Cunningham and Joyce Chen
