Melissa Rein Lively, a pro-Trump influencer and founder of the public relations firm America First PR, has been charged in connection with an alleged racially aggravated assault near London’s Bond Street station.
British authorities said Rein Lively, 40, was charged with assault by beating following an incident that allegedly occurred in central London on Oct. 11 last year.
Her boyfriend, Philipp Ostermann, 37, was charged with two racially aggravated public order offenses and an additional public order offense tied to the same incident.
According to reports, the alleged confrontation happened around 7:30 p.m. near Bond Street station involving a woman, her sister and two young children.
The alleged victim, a 34-year-old woman, was reportedly entering the station area with family members, including one child in a stroller, when the altercation began.
British Transport Police said a man allegedly shouted racial abuse at the woman and her family before the physical confrontation escalated further.
Authorities alleged the woman involved in the incident grabbed the victim’s hair during the altercation while additional verbal abuse occurred nearby.
Police also alleged the man displayed what he claimed was pepper spray and sprayed it toward the woman and her family during the confrontation.
“The man then began shouting racial abuse at the victim and her family,” a British Transport Police spokesperson said while describing the allegations connected to the case.
Police further alleged the woman involved shouted abuse and made lewd gestures before both parties eventually left the area following the confrontation.
The case has drawn attention because of Rein Lively’s public profile within conservative political circles and her previous support for President Donald Trump.
Rein Lively founded America First PR, an “anti-woke” public relations firm that promotes conservative political messaging and media campaigns.
She also reportedly sought the role of White House press secretary during Trump’s second administration before Karoline Leavitt was ultimately selected for the position, per the Daily Mail.
Ostermann works as an associate director at Aequita, a Munich-based private equity firm with offices in Germany, Japan and South Carolina.
Rein Lively previously attracted national attention in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic after filming herself destroying face masks inside a retail store in Arizona.
She has also publicly discussed adopting what she described as a “MAGA look” involving cosmetic procedures and styling choices associated with Trump supporters.
The first court hearing connected to the case is scheduled to take place Tuesday at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
British authorities have not announced additional charges, and neither Rein Lively nor Ostermann has publicly entered pleas regarding the allegations.
