According to BBC News<\/a>, Linehan was fined \u00a3500 (approximately $655) and ordered to pay costs of \u00a3650 and a statutory surcharge of \u00a3200 after being found guilty Tuesday of criminal damage to the phone.<\/p>\n Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London heard that Linehan “deliberately whacked” transgender activist Sophia Brooks’ phone out of her hand outside the Battle of Ideas conference last year. Brooks, who was born a male but identifies as a woman, reportedly confronted and filmed Linehan during the incident.<\/p>\n IRISH COMEDIAN ARRESTED FOR TRANS CRITICISM DEMANDS BILL MAHER APOLOGIZE FOR CALLING HIM ‘CRANK’<\/a><\/p>\n Graham Linehan speaks to members of the press outside the Westminster Magistrates’ Court Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025, in London, England. (Dan Kitwood\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n BBC News reported that the court also heard that the Irish comedy writer “relentlessly” posted abusive comments about Brooks on social media, but the judge ruled that these posts did not amount to harassment.<\/p>\n After their October confrontation, Linehan was accused of harassing Brooks \u2014 then 17 years old \u2014 calling her a “sociopath,” “psycho,” “domestic terrorist” and “groomer” on X.<\/p>\n District Judge Briony Clarke said that while Linehan’s posts were “unattractive, annoying and irritating,” she ruled that they were not “oppressive or unacceptable” and consequently did not meet the criminal threshold for harassment, according to the BBC.<\/p>\n The judge also said she did not believe “the complainant was as ‘alarmed and distressed’ as they portrayed themself to be by these messages and this course of conduct” and found that Brooks “was not giving entirely truthful evidence” during the trial in September. Conversely, the judge ruled that Linehan was “generally a credible witness.”<\/p>\n IRISH TV COMEDY WRITER SAYS UK ‘NO LONGER FREE COUNTRY’ AFTER ARREST OVER SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS<\/a><\/p>\n Graham Linehan poses with a placard that says “There\u2019s no such thing as a transgender child” outside Westminster Magistrates\u2019 Court Sept. 4, 2025, in London, England. (Dan Kitwood\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n The BBC reported that, outside court Tuesday, the Irish comedy writer said there was “a group of dangerous men who are determined to bully women and girls and to misuse the courts and police in furtherance of a misogynistic agenda.”<\/p>\n “I’m proud to have stood up to them and I will continue to do so,” he added.<\/p>\n Brooks released a statement<\/a> reshared on X by Stephanie Hayden that expressed satisfaction with the partial conviction and called Linehan a “thug.”\u00a0<\/p>\n While unrelated to the aforementioned court case, Linehan was arrested<\/a> at London Heathrow Airport in September over several social media posts criticizing transgender activists.<\/p>\n Linehan’s arrest sparked fury from some public figures and politicians and ignited a debate on social media about free speech in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n JONATHAN TURLEY: THE NEW BLASPHEMY? DARING TO LAUGH AT THE WRONG PEOPLE<\/a><\/p>\n Graham Linehan leaves Westminster Magistrates Court Sept. 4, 2025, in London, England.\u00a0 (Alishia Abodunde\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Graham](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/graham-linehan-cleared-harassment.jpg\")
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