Melissa Rein Lively, a 40-year-old American influencer and founder of the “anti-woke” America First Public Relations firm, has accepted a conditional caution for assaulting a woman at Bond Street tube station in London last October.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard on Tuesday that Rein Lively pulled a woman’s hair in a “forceful manner” during the altercation. She admitted the conduct amounted to a criminal offence and agreed to pay £910 in compensation to the victim, though the court noted the payment had not yet been made and is due in July.
The incident occurred on the evening of 11 October 2023 as two sisters walked towards the station with their children, one in a pushchair. According to the prosecution, the sisters noticed Rein Lively and a man, later identified as German national Philipp Ostermann, ahead of them. One sister believed Rein Lively may have been intoxicated.
Rein Lively allegedly stumbled into the pushchair, prompting the woman pushing it to move back, before grabbing one of the sisters by the hair and tugging it. The court heard the victim pulled Rein Lively’s hair in return to make her let go. A charge of assault by beating against Rein Lively was subsequently withdrawn after the caution.
Ostermann, 37, pleaded not guilty to two racially aggravated public order offences and a further public order offence against two alleged victims. He was released on unconditional bail and is due to return to City of London Magistrates’ Court in November for trial.
