Two women identified in court filings as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 filed a sex trafficking lawsuit against former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz on Thursday in Florida. The suit alleges that from 2017 through January 2019, when both were recent high school graduates, Gaetz and two other people arranged recruitment, payments, drugs, and travel connected to commercial sex acts.
Gaetz, who resigned from Congress in November 2024, denied the allegations. He told The Guardian that much of the conduct described is false and that the suit relies on a congressional report that did not give him a chance to confront his accusers. He added that he looks forward to deposing the plaintiffs. After the filing, Gaetz posted a photo of three women in bikinis on X, which the Miami Herald characterized as an effort to dox the Jane Does.
These are civil allegations, and no criminal charges have been filed in this case. That distinction matters, but so does the public response to it, especially for a figure with deep roots in Florida politics. The suit now heads into the civil process, where both sides will have to make their case under oath.
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