Donald Trump Jr. became the latest high-profile conservative to defend British comedian and actor Russell Brand, who was sentenced earlier this week to 10 and a half years in prison for raping a woman and sexually assaulting three others in connection with allegations dating back to 2004.
The president’s eldest son suggested on the latest episode of his show Rumble that Brand’s shift to conservatism might have played a role in his prosecution, saying “no one seemed to have a problem” with the performer at the height of his fame.
Trump Jr. and Brand have been photographed together in recent years. Trump Jr. also publicly defended Brand when the sexual assault allegations first surfaced.
With a chyron reading “Britain’s Two-Tiered Justice Exposed,” Trump Jr. alleged that Brand was the victim of a “two-tiered justice system” that punished people based on “who you are, not what you did.”
He also claimed that Muslim immigrants to the UK who had committed more serious offenses had received lighter sentences.
“A two-tier justice system is not just an American problem. Across the Atlantic, Britain today issued a ruling that, unfortunately, makes this point clearer than ever,” Trump Jr. said.
He then questioned the evidence behind Brand’s conviction and the timing of the allegations.
“Russell Brand was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to 10 years and 6 months in prison: one conviction for rape, three convictions for sexual assault. He was actually convicted without forensic evidence, without DNA, without a contemporaneous police report, which is now decades old, for allegations dating back to 1999. 1999, guys. So, 27 years later, so when he was married to Katy Perry, he was one of the most famous actors in the world, no. Nobody seemed to have a problem at the time But he finds out that God, I guess, changes his ways, sees some aspects of conservative living, talks about it and now he’s going to spend 10 and a half years in prison for rape when nobody had a problem with it for the previous 27 years.
“It raises, I think, some pretty obvious questions about why his sentence was harsher than, I don’t know, the sentences given to Muslim grooming gangs across the UK, right?” » asked the president’s son.
A jury found Brand guilty of raping one and assaulting three of his six accusers. He was cleared of two counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault, in allegations dating back to 1999.
During sentencing, Judge Joel Bennathan said Brand had shown a “casual and arrogant disregard” for women and had “become a sexual predator”.
Brand is now facing increased scrutiny over allegations involving two other women.
And on Tuesday, London’s Metropolitan Police said several more people had now provided information or reported potential criminal allegations, according to the BBC.
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