American Influencer Sought in London Assault Investigation
British Transport Police are seeking to question Melissa Rein Lively, a prominent MAGA influencer and PR consultant, in connection with an alleged racially aggravated assault outside Bond Street Tube station. The incident occurred at approximately 7:30pm on October 11 and involved both Lively and her financier boyfriend Philipp Ostermann.
Detectives believe the 40-year-old American and her 37-year-old German partner can "assist their enquiries" regarding an altercation that began when a family's pushchair accidentally bumped into a woman entering the station.
The Confrontation That Sparked International Attention
According to witness statements provided to police, what began as an innocent accident rapidly escalated into a disturbing confrontation. A woman travelling with her sister and two young children reported that after their buggy clipped the heels of a woman ahead of them, the man accompanying her immediately launched into racial abuse.
The situation worsened when the man allegedly sprayed a substance believed to be pepper spray toward the family. Pepper spray is banned in the UK under the Firearms Act as it is classified as an offensive weapon capable of causing temporary blindness, breathing difficulties and, in rare cases, fatal reactions.
Meanwhile, the female companion - identified as Lively - reportedly grabbed the hair of one of the sisters during the altercation. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured in the incident.
From London Luxury to Arizona Sunshine
Despite being wanted for questioning, Lively appeared anything but discreet when photographed leaving her home in an exclusive gated community in Scottsdale, Arizona. Dressed in vertigo-inducing heels and a white mini-dress with her blonde hair flowing in the sunshine, the PR consultant seemed to embrace the camera attention.
The couple's appearance on the British Transport Police's wanted website creates a stark contrast to the typical individuals featured, standing out among images of hooded youths and other suspects in more conventional criminal cases.
Police released an image of the couple on Monday, with Lively wearing leather trousers in the photograph. The force would not officially confirm the identities of those in the picture, but American news network CNN and other media outlets identified them as Lively and Ostermann.
A Colourful and Controversial Background
Melissa Rein Lively is no stranger to controversy in her native United States. She previously vied for the position of White House press secretary and founded America First, which she describes as "America's No 1 Anti-Woke PR Firm." The company represents "candidates, personalities and companies who think on the right side of things and are unapologetically patriots."
Her background reveals a complex personal history. Lively grew up in a Jewish family deeply scarred by Holocaust trauma. Her grandmother Frieda Reinstein survived both Bergen-Belsen and Buchenwald concentration camps, as well as the death marches of the 1940s. Tragically, approximately 96% of her relatives were murdered during the Holocaust.
Her grandfather Alex Reinstein was also a Nazi camp survivor, meeting Frieda in a displaced persons' camp in Germany after the war. Her father later changed the family surname from Reinstein to Rein in an effort to escape anti-Semitism.
Lively's mother died from an overdose when Melissa was just 14, and her father died eight years later in a freak accident.
Pattern of Controversial Behaviour
Lively's professional history includes multiple restraining orders taken out against her in 2019 by former colleagues at a PR firm where she previously worked. She was accused of mounting a harassment campaign against two executives, including posting a recorded phone conversation on YouTube.
American investigations have also revealed that Lively was removed by police from several resort hotels for using racial slurs toward other guests - particularly relevant given the nature of the Bond Street allegations.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she gained notoriety after filming herself destroying face masks in a Scottsdale Target store, with the footage going viral. She later attributed this behaviour to being "brainwashed" by the QAnon conspiracy movement, which also contributed to the breakdown of her marriage to realtor Jared Lively.
The German Financier Connection
Philipp Ostermann, Lively's companion during the London incident, is a 37-year-old German financier with an impressive professional background. He serves as associate director of Munich-based private equity firm Aequita, which maintains offices in Tokyo and South Carolina.
Ostermann is an international business graduate from Maastricht University and has previously worked at blue-chip accountancy firms KPMG in Berlin and PwC in Frankfurt.
The couple's visit to Britain coincided with Ostermann's scheduled appearance as a speaker at a private equity conference at Syon Park, a stately home near Heathrow, last month. The conference occurred shortly after the alleged Bond Street altercation.
Around the same time, Lively posted an Instagram picture of herself outside Sotheby's auction house in Bond Street, wearing the same outfit as the woman in the police-released photograph. The caption simply read: "With Love from London." The social media account has since been deleted.
International Manhunt or Witness Search?
The central question remains whether Lively and Ostermann are simply witnesses who have failed to come forward or whether they represent one of the most unlikely fugitive cases in recent memory.
British Transport Police stated there have been "no significant updates" since releasing the couple's image and declined to comment on whether the pair remain in the country or if measures have been taken to prevent their departure.
However, information from authoritative sources indicates that Melissa Rein Lively returned to her Scottsdale home on Thursday night, confirming she has left the UK despite police interest in speaking with her.
Both Lively and Ostermann have been approached for comment regarding the allegations. The case continues to develop as authorities on both sides of the Atlantic monitor the situation.
