Camilla Jessen
UK judge warns of possible bias in Barron Trump assault report.
A British judge has warned jurors to carefully weigh an account given by Barron Trump in a London assault case, saying his version of events may be “biased” and should not be relied on without caution.
The warning was delivered during proceedings at Snaresbrook Crown Court, where prosecutors allege a woman was assaulted by her former partner while Barron Trump was on a video call with her.
Call to police
According to reporting cited in court, Barron Trump, 19, contacted City of London Police on January 18, 2025, after saying he saw a woman “getting beat up” during a FaceTime call.
The call was made days before his father, President Donald Trump, began his second term in office.
Court transcripts reviewed by PEOPLE show that Barron contacted police roughly eight minutes after the alleged assault.
“It’s really an emergency, please,” he said during the call.
Prosecutors allege that Barron had met the woman on social media and was speaking with her when the incident occurred.
Alleged assault
The prosecution says the woman was attacked by her ex-boyfriend, Matvei Rumiantsev, a Russian national. The case involves multiple alleged incidents between November 2024 and January 2025.
Rumiantsev has denied all charges, which include rape, assault causing actual bodily harm, intentional strangulation and perverting the course of justice.
During cross-examination on January 23, Rumiantsev was questioned about jealousy toward his former partner’s interactions with other men, including Barron Trump.
“What I was really unhappy about was that she was frankly leading [Barron] on,” Rumiantsev said, according to Metro. He added that he was “jealous to some extent” but rejected claims that jealousy caused violent behavior.
Judge’s warning
On January 26, High Court Justice Joel Bennathan instructed jurors on how to treat Barron Trump’s report. He explained that the account counts as hearsay evidence because Barron was not under oath and did not give testimony in court.
“If he had done so, no doubt he could have been asked about things such as whether he ever got a good view of what happened, whether he actually saw [the woman] being assaulted, or jumped to this conclusion on the basis of her screams,” Bennathan said.
The judge also noted that Barron could have been questioned on whether his account was influenced by his relationship with the woman.
“He might also have been asked whether his perception was biased because he was a close friend with [the woman],” Bennathan told jurors.
Bennathan emphasized that the law allows juries to consider hearsay evidence, but stressed the need for caution.
“You can rely on it, but you should be cautious in doing so, consider if it could be mistaken or biased by his friendship with [the woman], and not convict the defendant mainly in reliance on it,” he said.
Sources: PEOPLE, The Guardian, The Independent, The Times
