London police charge MAGA influencer over alleged assault
· The Straits Times- US influencer Melissa Rein Lively was charged with assault by beating. Her partner, Philipp Ostermann, faced racially aggravated public order charges in London.
- A family, including young children, were allegedly racially abused and pepper-sprayed at London’s Bond Street station on October 11.
- Rein Lively, a Donald Trump-linked influencer, and Ostermann will attend Westminster Magistrates' Court for their first hearing on May 19.
LONDON - A US woman influencer with ties to President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement has been charged with assault by beating, police said on May 15, following an incident in which a family was allegedly racially abused and pepper sprayed in a London metro station.
Melissa Rein Lively’s partner, German national Philipp Ostermann, 37, was charged with two racially aggravated public order crimes and another offence, the British Transport Police said.
It follows an incident on Oct 11 at Bond Street Underground station in central London in which a family, including two young children one of whom was in a pushchair, were attacked, according to reports based on police statements at the time.
Rein Lively, 40, founded “America First,” a public relations agency that provides “anti-woke” services.
The PR consultant vied for the job of White House spokesperson for Mr Trump’s second term, but the president ultimately picked long-time loyalist Karoline Leavitt.
Ostermann reportedly works in finance.
The first hearing for the case will be at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on May 19, according to police. AFP