Graham Linehan admits throwing trans activist Sophia Brooks’ phone amid argument
A transgender activist “took pictures of people’s faces” before confronting comedy writer Graham Linehan, jurors heard.
Linehan, 57, is on trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London.
Father Ted The co-creator is accused of harassing trans woman Sophia Brooks and damaging her mobile phone outside the Battle of Ideas conference in Westminster on October 19, 2024.
District Judge Briony Clarke said the prosecution would address Ms Brooks by her “approved gender name”, while the defendant’s position was that “the complainant is male”.
Giving evidence for the defense on Wednesday, LGB Alliance UK co-founder Katherine Harris told the court she had seen Ms Brooks standing with the camera during a panel discussion.
Ms Harris said Ms Brooks was male and said: “This was a deliberate, intimidating move on his part and he wouldn’t stop. “He was taking pictures of anyone and everyone he could and it felt intrusive and aggressive.
“It felt like he wanted to put everyone under his power through his camera, to say, ‘I’m the big guy here, I can do whatever I want.’ That was the message. The disruption was complete.”
Ms Harris also told the court she knew Linehan “very well”.
Prosecutor Julia Faure Walker told Ms Harris: “Whatever Brooks did, it did not have a significant impact in terms of disruption to the conference,” to which Ms Harris replied “yes, I think it did,” adding: “That’s because these attacks are cumulative, they build and they build and they build.”
The court was told in September that Linehan and Ms Brooks met face to face for the first time outside the conference on October 19.
While filming outside the location, Ms. Brooks approached Linehan and asked: “Why do you think it is acceptable for young people to be called domestic terrorists?”
She told the court that Linehan called her a “slut who watches cowardly porn”, a “caregiver” and a “disgusting incel”, to which the complainant replied: “you’re an incel, you’re divorced”.
A video played to the court showed Linehan taking Ms Brooks’ phone.
When asked why he threw the phone and did not return it, Linehan said, “My adrenaline was up, I was angry. I think it was a feeling of surrender, so I threw it away.”
“I didn’t hit it, I just skimmed it. It was instinctive, the moment I did it I thought ‘this was a mistake’.”
Giving evidence in September, Linehan said her “life had been made hell” by trans activists and added that the complainant was “a young soldier in the army of trans activists”.
Referring to Ms Brooks as male, the author added: “She was misogynistic, abusive, condescending.
“He relied on his anonymity to get close to people and hurt them, and I wanted to destroy that anonymity.”
Ms Faure Walker said Linehan posted “relentlessly” about Ms Brooks and his posts were “oppressive”.
The court previously heard Linehan had posted about someone called “Tarquin” on social media. Ms Faure Walker said it was the defendant’s “derogatory term” for the complainant.
Appearing via video link on Wednesday, Linehan denied the allegation that he harassed Ms Brooks on social media between October 11 and 27, 2024, and a charge of criminal damage to her mobile phone on October 19, 2024.
The trial continues.
