Melissa Rein Lively and Philipp Ostermann's charges stem from an October 2025 incident at a transit station
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NEED TO KNOW
- A MAGA influencer and her boyfriend have been charged after they were allegedly involved in a racially-motivated assault in London in 2025
- Melissa Rein Lively, an outspoken Trump supporter who has launched a bid to become the White House Press Secretary, was charged with one count of assault by beating, while Philipp Ostermann was charged with two racially aggravated public order offenses and a further public order offense
- The couple is scheduled to appear in court on May 19
A MAGA influencer and her boyfriend have been charged after they were allegedly involved in a racially-motivated assault.
Melissa Rein Lively, a supporter of President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again movement, and Philipp Ostermann are facing charges following an incident at a London transit station last year, according to a news release from British Transport Police (BTP).
Lively, 40, was charged with one count of assault by beating, while Ostermann, 37, was charged with two racially aggravated public order offenses and a further public order offense, per the BTP.
Credit: Dominic Valente for The Washington Post via Getty
Police said the charges are in connection with an October 2025 incident that took place at the Bond Street Underground station.
Police did not share any additional details about the incident in their news release, but the BBC reported that the charges were filed by a woman who claimed she was abused based on her race and had her hair grabbed while entering the station.
The incident started after the woman who filed the report said her stroller collided with another woman walking ahead of her, according to Metro UK.
A man with the woman reportedly began shouting at the alleged victim, per the BBC and Metro UK, and the one woman then allegedly grabbed the other's hair.
The man subsequently pulled out a small bottle he claimed was pepper spray and allegedly used it in the direction of the woman, who was with her family at the time, Metro UK reported.
PEOPLE has reached out to the BTP for more information and for comment on the charges.
Lively is a PR executive who identifies herself on TikTok as the “Founder of America's #1 Anti-Woke PR Firm.”
She has been an outspoken Trump supporter for several years, and she even launched a bid to become the White House Press Secretary, according to the Economic Times and Politico.
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Ostermann, meanwhile, is an associate director of a Munich-based private equity company called Aequita, per Metro UK.
Lively and Ostermann’s first hearing in relation to the charges is scheduled to take place at the Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, May 19, according to the BTP.
Lively did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Saturday, May 16. Ostermann could not be reached for comment. It is not immediately clear if either has legal representation to comment on their behalf.
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