Overview
- Westminster Magistrates’ Court cleared the writer of harassing trans activist Sophia Brooks over October 2024 posts but found he damaged her phone during a confrontation outside the Battle of Ideas conference.
- District Judge Briony Clarke said the posts were “deeply unpleasant” yet not oppressive, questioned the extent of Brooks’s distress, and stressed the court would not “pick a side” in gender debates.
- Sentencing included a £500 fine, £650 in costs and a £200 surcharge; the offence was not treated as a hate crime, and no restraining order was imposed.
- Linehan and his counsel signaled an appeal of the criminal damage conviction, with the Free Speech Union offering to support the challenge.
- The split ruling follows his September arrest over separate X posts that prosecutors declined to pursue, a flashpoint in wider disputes over online speech and policing.