Former House GOP Aide Natalie Greene Charged With Allegedly Faking Her Own Violent Political Assault

A former congressional aide who worked for Rep. Jeff Van Drew was charged with faking a violent, political attack against herself. Police found the former aide, Natalie Greene, zip-tied with writing and dozens of cuts on her body after her alleged co-conspirator called 911, per CNN.

On July 23, 2025, Greene's female alleged co-conspirator called police and said, "three guys just attacked us," as they were walking at a nature preserve in New Jersey, per NBC News. She told the 911 operator, "They were attacking her. They were like talking about politics and stuff. They were like calling her names." She said the attackers knew her name and talked about her work for Van Drew.

Greene's hands and feet were zip-tied, and her shirt was pulled over her head and secured with a zip-tie. Messages were written on her body with a Sharpie: her stomach read, "Trump w---e" and her back read, Van Drew "is racist." She had lacerations on her face, neck, upper chest, and shoulder.

When Egg Harbor Township Police found Greene, she was "screaming through tears" that one of the attackers "has a gun" and had threatened to shoot her. She told law enforcement later that the attackers had hit her in the head, then held her down while they cut her and wrote on her body.

The investigation showed that Greene had actually paid a scarification artist to use a scalpel and deliberately cut lacerations on her body in the pattern that she requested prior to the incident. Law enforcement found that she had paid $500 for the service, based on a receipt that they obtained from the body modification artist.

Police found zip-ties like the ones used during the incident in Greene's car, and they discovered that her alleged co-conspirator's phone had been used to search "zip ties near me" two days prior to the staged attack.

She was charged with conspiracy to convey false statements and hoaxes, and making false statements to federal law enforcement in a staged attack. Each charge has a maximum penalty of five years in prison, meaning Greene could serve up to 10 years.

Van Drew's office released a statement, saying, "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. We hope she’s getting the care she needs."

A scarification artist is a body modification artist who cuts scars into the skin to "create certain patterns or designs, often with symbolic meaning,” per MedicalNewsToday. Per Inked Mag, scarification is a body modification process that involves the cutting and branding of skin to create a permanent design out of scar tissue."