Graham Linehan has been cleared of harassment but found guilty of criminal damage to transgender activist Sophia Brooks’ mobile phone.
The Father Ted co-creator, 57, flew in from Arizona to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in person on Tuesday, where District Judge Briony Clarke delivered the judgment.
His trial began at Westmister Magistrates Court in September, where he had denied both charges in relation to an incident in October 2024.
He denied harassing the activist on social media between October 11 and October 27, 2024. Meanwhile, the criminal damage to their mobile phone is said to have taken place on October 19 of the same year.
A criminal damages claim detailed that he allegedly damaged her £369 mobile phone at the Battle of Ideas conference – an annual event hosting public debates across a wide range of issues.
Prosecutor Julia Faure Walker also detailed the harassment charges during the trial.
In a summary of her judgment, Clarke explained that while Linehan’s social media posts – which the activist was not tagged on – were ‘deeply unpleasant, insulting and even unnecessary’ they weren’t ‘oppressive or unacceptable beyond merely unattractive, annoying or irritating’.
She concluded the conduct did not count as harassment, nor was the complainant as distressed as they claimed to be.
She added, in the charge of criminal damage, that Linehan was ‘angry and fed up’ when he deliberately whacked Brooks’ phone to the ground in a confrontation outside the venue.
The Irish comedy writer has become widely known for his strong and vocal stance towards the transgender community.
