The creator of celebrated British comedy sitcoms Father Ted and The IT Crowd and co-creator of Black Books has been cleared of harassing a transgender activist on social media. He was, however, found guilty of damaging their mobile phone during an encounter last year.
Prosecutors alleged that Graham Linehan, an Irish comedy writer known for his outspoken criticism of trans activism, wrote “repeated, abusive, unreasonable” social media posts about Sophia Brooks. He denied the charge.
District Judge Briony Clarke said that while Linehan’s social media posts were “deeply unpleasant, insulting and even unnecessary,” they did not amount to harassment. She did say that Linehan took Brooks’ phone, knocked it to the ground and damaged it outside a conference venue in London in October last year because the writer was “angry and fed up.”
The comedy writer’s lawyer, Sarah Vine, said Linehan had “a momentary lapse of control.”
During his trial, the 57-year-old writer said his “life was made hell” by trans activists, and described the plaintiff as a “young soldier in the trans activist army.”
Summarising her judgment, the judge said: “It is not for this court to ‘pick a side’ in any matter of public debate. This court is not concerned with that debate and does not have to determine and nor should anything in this judgment be viewed as the court determining any issues in relation to it.”
Linehan was fined £500 (€569) and ordered to pay court costs of £650 (€740) and a statutory surcharge of £200 (€227). His lawyer said he planned to appeal the conviction.
Linehan was arrested in September on suspicion of inciting violence against trans women, advocating hitting them if calling police and other measures failed to stop them from using women-only facilities.
His arrest split opinions online and sparked a debate over which online comments constitute hate speech and warrant police intervention.
After his arrest, London’s police chief said that he did not want officers “policing toxic culture war debates” and controversial Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling predictably weighed in, asking: “What the fuck has the UK become?”
Speaking outside court after the hearing, Linehan said he was pleased with the judge’s findings.
“The judge found me and the women who gave evidence on my behalf to be credible, honest witnesses, and said that my actions were not criminal and did not constitute harassment,” he said.
He added that he was grateful to the Free Speech union “for their unwavering support” and protecting those who “speak out”.