A woman dabbed as President Donald Trump signed a sex trafficking bill on Wednesday. The woman is one of the survivors of the Backpage.com saga that brought the activities of the website to the spotlight. The woman, M.A., sued Village Voice Media in 2010, the owner of Backpage.com after she was allegedly kidnapped and sold via the site. Unfortunately , the woman’s legal team couldn’t establish the publisher’s intent to encourage crimes in 2010 , per Washington Examiner .
The Hill said her case led to a number of similar lawsuits that led the Justice Department to recently seize the site and charge several of the site’s founders. The founders were charged with alleged prostitution and money laundering. M.A. was invited to the White House to witness the signing of the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act. The bill gives more powers to federal law enforcement officers to prosecute promoters or facilitators of prostitution on the Internet.
To celebrate the signing of the bill, M.A. showed off some of her dance moves after dabbing in the Oval Office. The woman said from behind Trump in the Oval Office, “I am not a survivor. I am M.A. It’s about da** time,” before she dabbed. Even Yvonne Ambrose of Chicago had to wipe away a tear. Ambrose’s 16-year-old daughter, Desiree Robinson, was killed after being prostituted on Backpage.com , according to The Washington Post . The bill known as “FOSTA” is derived from the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act and it goes into effect immediately.
The Washington Post reports the signing comes days after seven executives for Backpage.com were arrested and indicted. The 93-count indictment alleges the website facilitated prostitution and laundered tens of millions of dollars in profits and teenage girls were sold for sex on the site. Desiree Robinson was among a number of girls killed after she was kidnapped. The signing of the bill is another step towards curbing online prostitution and other related crimes.
M.A., woman who sued https://t.co/98d3bCFj8l , dances as Pres. Trump signs bill combatting online sex trafficking. “It’s about damn time.” https://t.co/jmdzOE7XOn pic.twitter.com/FCnGNCFfvA
— ABC News (@ABC) April 11, 2018
The controversial website, Backpage.com was launched in 2004 and it featured classified ads. The site offered classified listings for a wide variety of products and services including prostitution and sex trafficking.
