A Maga influencer with a distinctive “Mar-a-Lago” face is wanted in London after being accused of racist abuse and assault.
Melissa Rein Lively, known for her bright blonde hair and gleaming white teeth, and Philip Ostermann are now wanted by the British Transport Police (BTP) following the attack on 11 October.
The BTP named the couple yesterday as the search for the pair ramps up. Ms Rein Lively was listed to speak at a private equity conference at the Syon Park stately home near Heathrow on 14 October.
According to a statement from the BTP, a woman was sprayed with a substance suspected to be pepper spray at the bustling Bond Street station in the centre of the capital. Possessing pepper spray in the United Kingdom is a criminal offence and can carry a six-month prison sentence.
The couple was walking into the station, which is near iconic landmarks like Selfridges and Hyde Park, when a pushchair, carrying one of the victim’s children, collided with Ms Rein Lively.
“The man then began shouting racial abuse at the victim and her family, before the woman grabbed her hair,” read a police statement. “When the victim tried to defend herself, the man pulled out a small bottle and said it was pepper spray before spraying it in the direction of the victim and her family.
“The woman shouted abuse and made lewd gestures at them before both parties left the area.”
The 34-year-old victim was accompanied by her sister and two young children, according to police.
Ms Rein Lively, 40, is the Arizona-based owner of the America First PR firm. The group describes itself as “America’s #1 Anti-Woke PR Firm” and, according to its website, is planning to launch a European arm named “Europe First PR.”
Previously, she became the focus of an article about “Mar-a-Lago” face written by French outlet AFP. The newspaper described the look as “long, blonde, wavy hair, heavy makeup and cosmetic injections,” and included Kristi Noem and Erika Kirk as other examples.
“This has always been my look. I just found my tribe,” she told AFP. “It’s so much bigger than politics. It’s friendships. It’s relationships.
“That Maga look really signals to other people that you’re on the same team.”
Ms Rein Lively rocketed to fame as a member of the controversial QAnon movement, which believes that a cabal of Satanic elites is secretly carrying out child sex abuse crimes. The bizarre conspiracy movement believes that Donald Trump secretly leads a fight against these elites.
However, Ms Rein Lively made headlines when she had a high-profile falling out with the movement, which she says she found “comfort” in.
In an interview with Yahoo News, she claimed that she fell into an “echo chamber” of denial about the pandemic and that she was the victim of “digital brainwashing”.
While supporting the movement, Ms Rein Lively filmed herself removing COVID masks from displays in a store in Scottsdale, Arizona, as the pandemic continued to spread across the United States in 2020.
“I went into denial about the pandemic, as a coping mechanism,” she said. “And there was QAnon to comfort me and tell me, ‘Oh, it’s not real. It’s not happening.’
The 40-year-old also battled Karoline Leavitt for the role of Trump’s press secretary, but was ultimately beaten in the race, according to Politico.
“I’m a hair away from the White House. I do think I’m going to get it,” she said at the time, according to Politico. “My sphere of influence goes far beyond people who are paper pushers on the Trump campaign.
“I work with billionaires. My clients are – I can’t even name who I work with. They own half of Palm Beach.”
Mr Ostermann, who is also being sought by police, is the associate director of a Munich-based private equity firm called Aequita, with offices in Tokyo and South Carolina. His profile page on the firm’s site leads to a 404 error at the time of writing.
The Independent has contacted the British Transport Police and America First PR for comment.
