A woman who admitted to assaulting another woman on the London Underground has claimed she was targeted because of her close ties to Donald Trump.
Melissa Rein Lively pulled the woman’s hair in a ‘forceful manner’ in an incident at Bond Street Underground station on October 11 last year.
Now, she’s spoken out and accused the British Transport Police of targeting her because she’s friends with Trump.
‘I want the truth to come out because this has been devastating for me, my family and my businesses,’ Rein Lively, who previously launched a bid to be Trump’s press secretary, told the Daily Mail.
‘I feel like there was pressure (within the police) to turn this into a symbolic or politically-charged case. In Britain now, there is two-tier policing, two-tier justice. As soon as ‘racism’ is mentioned, well, I think you know…’
‘They wanted to politicise it. They wanted to go after MAGA. They wanted to go after Trump.’
Melissa added: ‘It’s so easy to look at someone like me and say: “She supports Trump, and she’s MAGA, so she’s racist.” It doesn’t make it true.’
The court previously heard that the altercation began when Rein Lively, who was said to be under the influence of alcohol, stumbled into a pushchair, and the woman holding it – who was walking with her sister – pushed back.
It is alleged her partner, Philipp Ostermann, then racially abused the pair, saying: ‘You bloody Indians, watch where you’re going, you shouldn’t be here.’
One of the women then allegedly responded: ‘She fell over my sister’s pushchair, and we are not even Indian, stop being racist.’
Lively then pulled the hair of one of the sisters, tugging it in a forceful manner, the court heard.
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She accepted a conditional caution, and the assault by beating charge against her was withdrawn, Westminster Magistrates’ Court was told.
Ostermann, 37, was charged with two racially aggravated public order offences and a further public order offence against two alleged victims.
He pleaded not guilty to the three charges against him.
He was given unconditional bail and told to return to City of London Magistrates’ Court on November 17 to face trial.
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