Graham Linehan Acquitted of Harassment, Convicted of Phone Damage

Graham Linehan, the co-creator of the television comedy Father Ted, was acquitted on Tuesday of harassing a transgender activist on social media but convicted of criminal damage for smashing the activist's mobile phone outside a London conference last year. The 57-year-old writer, who traveled from Arizona to attend the hearing in person, appeared before District Judge Briony Clarke at Westminster Magistrates Court, where the verdict was delivered following a three-day trial that began in September.

The charges stemmed from incidents in October 2024 involving Sonia Brooks, a transgender activist then aged 17. Linehan denied harassing Brooks through a series of social media posts on the platform X between October 11 and 27. Prosecutors, led by Julia Faure Walker, argued that the posts were abusive and unreasonable, with Linehan referring to Brooks by the name "Tarquin" and labeling her a domestic terrorist, a sociopath, and a man. In one post, he asked, "Does anyone know this man?" and accused her of being part of a group of dangerous men, while mocking her gender identity. Brooks testified that she feared the posts could incite vigilante violence, telling the court she worried...