NEED TO KNOW
- One year after Barron Trump called police in London to report an assault he witnessed on FaceTime, the man he accused has been found guilty of the crime by a jury
- Twenty-two-year-old Russian citizen Matvei Rumiantsev was found guilty of assault on Wednesday, Jan. 28, in connection with the Jan. 18, 2025, attack of his ex-girlfriend
- Barron witnessed the attack on a video call and called authorities minutes later, saying, "It's really an emergency, please," according to transcripts
A 22-year-old man has been found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend one year after Barron Trump reported the attack to London police.
Barron, the 19-year-old son of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, called the City of London Police in England on Jan. 18, 2025, and said he witnessed a woman being assaulted on a video call by a man later identified as Russian citizen Matvei Rumiantsev.
“I’m calling from the U.S., I just got a call from a girl… she’s getting beat up,” Barron said, according to a transcript released by the prosecution. At one point, he said, "It's really an emergency, please."
During the call, Barron was asked how he knew the woman, and he replied, "I don't think these details matter, she's getting beat up but OK fine, also I met her on social media, I don't think that matters."
The operator snapped at him, saying, "Can you stop being rude and actually answer my questions?" He later apologized for coming across as rude.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty
During Rumiantsev’s cross-examination in court on Jan. 23, prosecutors asked him if he had been jealous of the ex-girlfriend's friendship with Barron.
"What I was really unhappy about was that she was frankly leading [Barron] on," Rumiantsev said, according to Metro. “I am being portrayed as a jealous person who can lose his temper due to jealousy. I want to just make clear that her actions towards [Barron] were wrong, and it was not fair. I was jealous to some extent."
Rumiantsev allegedly grabbed the woman’s hair and pushed her to the floor, while shouting, “You are not worth anything.”
When British High Court Justice Joel Bennathan gave direction to the jury about weighing in on the evidence on Monday, Jan. 26, jurors were warned that Barron's testimony wasn’t given under oath, making it hearsay evidence because it has not "been tested in cross-examination."
“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.
“He might also have been asked whether his perception was biased because he was a close friend with [the woman],” Bennathan added.
The judge went on to explain how jurors can receive hearsay evidence but they must proceed with caution when reaching a verdict.
"Therefore, 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.
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The jury found Rumiantsev guilty of assault, BBC and CNN reported on Wednesday.
He was also found guilty perverting the court of justice after he wrote to the woman from prison after the Jan. 18, 2025, attack, asking her to withdraw her accusations.
He was found not guilty of one count of rape and intentional strangulation, and another of rape and assault alleged to have occurred in November 2024.
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty
Back in the United States, Jan. 18, 2025, was a significant day for Barron and his family outside of the tense video call, as the Trumps flew from Palm Beach to Washington, D.C., to kick off a busy weekend of events ahead of Donald's second inauguration.
Barron, 18 at the time, was largely shielded from the political spotlight during and after his father's first White House term.
During the ceremony, Barron was seen smiling and clapping alongside Elon Musk, animatedly talking with Jeff Bezos and greeting outgoing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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