Gender-critical activist Graham Linehan called trans woman ‘groomer’ and ‘incel’, court hears

Graham Linehan has arrived in court for a trial over criminal damage and harassment charges against an 18-year-old trans girl.

The 57-year-old ‘gender-critical’ activist arrived outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court wearing a trans flag placard featuring the slogan “there’s no such thing as a transgender child” on one side, and “keep men out of women’s sports” on the other, ahead of a court hearing on Thursday (4 September).

Graham Linehan was arrested in April on criminal damage and harassment charges against 18-year-old trans teenager Sophia Brooks.

The Father Ted co-creator is accused of harassing Brooks on social media in October 2024 and damaging her mobile phone, valued at £369, during a London conference in the same month. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in May.

The magistrate’s court heard that Linehan confronted Brooks outside of the Battle of Ideas conference in Westminster on 19 October, where he was a guest speaker, after she was escorted out of the conference building, The Telegraph reports.

“About 20 minutes later, Mr Linehan crossed the street with his phone recording,” Brooks told the court. “He asked me how many kids I had groomed. He then walked into the Battle of Ideas conference.”

Brooks said the 57-year-old then began hurling insults, calling her a “groomer,” “incel”, and a “sissy porn watching scumbag.”

After Brooks allegedly asked why Linehan had called her a “domestic terrorist” on social media, she alleged that he “whacked” her phone out of her hand.

Julia Faure Walker, prosecuting, told the court: “Linehan was clearly proud of what he had done because a few days [later] he tweeted: ‘I am quite proud. I grabbed his phone and threw it across the road.’

“Clearly, he was pleased from gaining a sense of superiority over someone on the other side of the ideological debate.”

Graham Linehan’s posts were ‘verbally abusive,’ court hears during trial

Linehan had allegedly instigated a harassment campaign against the 18-year-old through a series of X/Twitter posts made between 11 October and 27 October.

In one, Linehan told his supporters, if they saw Brooks, to shove her “phone up [her] arse.” In another, he claimed she was a “deeply disturbed sociopath.”

Following his arrest, he reportedly told police he believed his posts did not amount to harassment and were in the public interest “as a journalist.”

Walker told the court that Linehan had “relentlessly” posted about Brooks, arguing his tweets were “oppressive and unacceptable” and had crossed “the threshold [for harassment].”

“The purpose of these posts was clearly not merely to relay events, to express political opinion, to criticise, to help identify perpetrators, or to solve any crime,” she said. “Nor is it the case that these posts merely present ideas that may shock, disturb, or offend.

“Rather … they were verbally abusive and vindictive and reflected Mr Linehan’s deep disliking of Ms Brooks.”

The trial continues…