A now-former staffer for Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew has been exposed as MAGA’s own version of infamous hoaxer Jussie Smollett.
The staffer, 26-year-old Natalie Greene, has been charged by the Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) for faking an assault on herself, much like Smollett did in Chicago six years ago.
According to a DOJ press release, on July 23 of this year, a female co-conspirator called 911 and claimed that she and Greene had just been attacked by three men while walking on a nature trail.
Employee of a Federal Official Charged with Conspiracy to Falsely Report Violent Attack and Giving False Statements to Law Enforcement https://t.co/yJbinU9pYa
— NJ US Attorney (@USAO_NJ) November 19, 2025
The co-conspirator alleged that the three men had called Greene out by her name and also mentioned her former employment with Van Drew.
When law enforcement arrived at the scene, they found Greene crying while “lying in a wooded area just off the trail, with her hands and feet bound together with black zip ties,” according to the DOJ press release.
“Greene’s shirt was pulled over her head and was also tied with a black zip tie,” the press release continues. “Greene had numerous lacerations on her face, neck, upper chest, and shoulder.”
The words “TRUMP W–RE” were written on her stomach, while the words “JEFF VAN DREW IS RACIST” were written on her back. There were also what looked like cut marks all over her body.
This is tragedy. She’s not well.
But yes, this young Republican ex-Congressional Staffer staged an elaborate hoax and blamed horrific violence on liberals. She even paid someone to create a lot of scars on her body.
“Natalie Greene, a Rutgers law student, allegedly concocted… pic.twitter.com/hICvjKzNtB
— Danielle Langlois (@DanielleLangWa) November 20, 2025
Greene told investigators that at least one of her attackers had a gun, which he’d threatened to shoot her with.
She also alleged that the attackers had held her down, restrained her movement (tied her up), and cut/written all over her body.
But it was all a lie.
“The investigation revealed that Greene had not, in fact, been attacked by three men at gunpoint on July 23,” according to the press release. “Instead, Greene had paid a body modification/scarification artist to deliberately cut the lacerations on her face, neck, upper chest, and shoulder, based on a pattern that she had provided beforehand.”
Meanwhile, investigators found black zip ties in Greene’s car, and they also discovered that Greene’s co-conspirator had searched for “zip ties near me” on her phone two days prior to the alleged attack.
Greene has since been charged with “one count of conspiracy to convey false statements and hoaxes and one count of making false statements to federal law enforcement.”
The conspiracy charge boasts a maximum sentence of five years in jail, three years supervised relief, and a $250,000 fine.
The false statement charge boasts a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years supervised relief, and a $250,000 fine.
‘Investigators Determined the Attack was Staged’.
Natalie Greene, a 26-year-old former aide to New Jersey Congressman Jeff Van Drew, has been charged with faking a violent attack after allegedly paying a body-modification artist to carve lacerations into her skin, according… pic.twitter.com/Y5Okn58Xyo
— Just the Facts (@Daniell39173501) November 20, 2025
According to New Jersey radio station WKXW, Greene began interning for Van Drew in 2021 before being promoted to a constituent advocate and then later a constituent advocate director in June of 2024.
In a statement to the station, Van Drew’s communications director confirmed that Greene is no longer with his office as of Wednesday.
“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,” the statement read. “We hope she’s getting the care she needs.”
WKXW also revealed a few additional details that the DOJ presser had neglected to include.
For example, the station reported that “Greene’s phone history also showed a Reddit profile searching for body modification studios, and Instagram messages back and forth with a studio in Pennsylvania.”
It’s believed Greene ultimately got the body modifications on July 23.
“She signed a consent waiver for the work, submitted her New Jersey driver’s license, and paid $500 in cash,” the station notes. “Greene then drove from Pennsylvania to Ventnor, picked up her unnamed conspirator, and eventually drove to the Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve in Egg Harbor Township.”
And that’s when she pulled off the silliest, most unthinkable hoax crime since the Jussie Smollett incident.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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