Conspiracy theorist guilty of shoving trans activist

A conspiracy theorist has been found guilty of shoving a trans activist after being caught on camera at a Brighton rally.

Matthew Payne, 59, told the court he was not the man in the video, and suggested a picture of him wearing the same clothes, hat and camera might not be real.

But a bench at Brighton Magistrates Court said they didn’t accept the picture was edited, but that he was the man in the video shown assaulting Denise Friend at the Let Women Speak rally in September 2022.

Payne, also known as Matt in a Hat, represented himself during the one-day trial, which finally went ahead today following a string of adjournments.

It was almost adjourned for the seventh time after Payne dismissed the solicitor who had been appointed to cross examine Miss Friend on his behalf.

He told the court this was because the lawyer, John Naylor, had refused to ask the questions he wanted him to ask.

He said: “He started shouting at me and saying I’m not asking those questions. I showed him some video clips and so I wanted to ask questions about those.”

However, prosecutor Victoria Kaye asked the court to go ahead after it was disclosed this was the second lawyer Payne had dismissed for the same reason – saying that it amounted to Payne trying to frustrate the court process.

The bench agreed, and the trial went ahead without Payne being able to cross-examine Miss Friend.

About a dozen supporters sat in the public gallery in court seven.

The bench twice spoke to them about appropriate behaviour, first saying they mustn’t interrupt proceedings, and then after lunch to warn them that filming court proceedings is a criminal offence.

Opening the case, Miss Kaye said the prosecution’s case rested on just two seconds of footage, which she played to the court.

It showed a man wearing a blue baseball cap, dark rimmed glasses, dark jacket and camera equipment shoving Miss Friend.

Miss Friend, giving evidence from behind a screen, said: “I was just walking away from what was going on and I felt this enormous push to my back which almost knocked me off my feet.

“I was really shaken. I obviously didn’t expect it to happen, I was unprepared for it and I didn’t know what was going on.”

She said she posted about her experience on Facebook, and was then approached by two people, one of whom had a picture of Payne taken at the protest, and another who told her there was video of the assault itself on YouTube.

After giving evidence, Miss Friend sat at the back of court with friends.

When he took the stand to take evidence, Payne brought his own copy of the bible to swear the oath on.

He said: “I’m a bit of a fool, I don’t know what I’m doing, I’m out of my depth.”

Asked if he was the man in the picture, he said: “I have got no idea if it’s me. It looks like me but I have no idea who took it, or if it’s even real.”

Of the video, he said: “Personally, I think it’s not me.”

Payne was hoping to show the court an hour’s worth of video footage he had found on YouTube of the event, which he said showed Miss Friend calling over masked men to attack the police.

After a brief session of court management, he agreed to show just a compilation of about five minutes, some of which showed Miss Friend briefly shoving a steward.

He was warned by Miss Kaye that if he persisted in attacking Miss Friend’s character, she would make an application to tell the court about his previous convictions – which include dishonesty offences.

When he showed some of the clips as part of his case, the trial was briefly halted after he tried to make a commentary about what was happening.

It restarted after he and the CPS agreed he would be allowed to show the clips, but not make any comments about what was happening in them.

Four witnesses attended to give evidence on behalf of Payne, but only one, fellow conspiracy theorist Michael Manoel Cortes, ended up taking the stand.

Payne said he had no idea what any of them were going to say, and did not even know the names of the other three – Kay Lyons, Jill Sinclair and Shirley Briggs.

Ms Lyons complained to the court that a letter she had written for the bench to read had not been passed to them, but they explained they were not allowed to read any material not presented in evidence.

When she was told if she was to give evidence, she could not remain in court before she took the stand, she said she did not want to be a witness any more.

Mr Manoel Cortes apologised to the bench for his clothes – a hot pink t-shirt reading Notorious MMC. He said he had come “suited and booted” on previous occasions but was convinced today’s hearing would also be adjourned.

He said: I saw someone dressed in black, possibly wearing a mask push the victim in the back and at the time I turned to Matt who hadn’t seen it, and said ‘That woman who assaulted the stewards has just been pushed by someone’ and he replied ‘I’m gutted, I wish I’d seen that’.”

However, neither his evidence nor Payne’s video clips convinced the bench.

Chair of the bench Helen Scott said: “We found the CPS video evidence to be clear, showing that Denise Friend was pushed from behind by a man in a blue baseball cap, dark jacket and camera. This is the same person in the photograph.

“We heard Mr Payne has accepted he was wearing the same clothes. We do not accept the assertion that this is not him or that the picture may have been edited.”

After she announced Payne had been found guilty, there were cries from the gallery of “Shame on you” and “It’s a sad day for women. Just one man trying to make us feel safer. I don’t feel safe in this country any more.”

Payne, of The Promenade, Peacehaven, will now be sentenced in August.