US President Donald Trump’s youngest son unexpectedly became part of a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom after contacting police to report what he believed was an ongoing violent attack on a woman he knew through social media, a British court was told on Thursday. The disclosure emerged during court proceedings related to the case and immediately drew public and media interest.
The involvement of Barron Trump, who is 19, began attracting attention on Wednesday when prosecutors laid out the sequence of events for jurors at a court located northeast of London. His name surfaced as part of the evidence in the trial of a man accused of carrying out a serious assault.
The defendant, 22-year-old Matvei Rumiantsev, is facing charges including assault and two counts of rape, along with other allegations, in connection with an attack on a woman whose identity cannot be disclosed for legal reasons. Rumiantsev has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The court heard that Barron Trump told police he was “very close” to the alleged victim.
According to testimony, Barron Trump contacted British police from the United States on January 18, 2025, after witnessing disturbing scenes during a video call with the woman. Jurors were told that he believed she was being physically attacked at the time and feared for her safety.
British media outlet Metro, which first reported the case, said Rumiantsev was the woman’s former boyfriend and had allegedly become jealous of her friendship with the American president’s son. The court was played recordings of Barron Trump’s call to police, in which he said he had just received a call from a woman who was “getting beat up” and described the violence as severe.
In the call, Barron Trump initially hesitated to explain how he knew the woman, prompting the police operator to press him for details. He later clarified that they had met through social media. The woman later told jurors that his decision to alert authorities “helped save my life,” according to reports cited in court.
Jurors also heard about a follow-up email Barron Trump sent to investigators on May 2, 2025, in which he described briefly seeing a shirtless man during the video call before the screen switched back to the woman. He wrote that the view lasted only a second and added that the woman had previously told him she had been experiencing ongoing difficulties with the same individual.
Testifying in his own defence, Rumiantsev told the court that he became upset after discovering messages between the complainant and Barron Trump several months earlier. He said their friendship caused repeated arguments and claimed he had tried to explain to her that he felt hurt and distressed about her communicating with Barron Trump.
