Russell Brand gets sentenced to prison, but Trump Jr. believes he was targeted for his conservative views: ‘No one had a problem with it’

Donald Trump Jr. said Russell Brand’s conviction for rape and sexual assault, along with his prison sentence of more than a decade, came after Brand began talking about religion and some conservative ideas. The comments appeared in a video Trump Jr. posted to Rumble, shortly after Brand’s sentencing at Southwark Crown Court.

The 48-year-old son of President Donald Trump described the case as driven by politics rather than the evidence alone. He stated, “He finds God, I guess, changes his ways, sees some aspects of conservative life, and talks about them, and now he’s going to spend 10 and a half years in prison for rape when no one had a problem with it in the prior 27 years.”

Trump Jr. also questioned how the allegations, which date back to 1999, only led to charges long after Brand had been a well-known public figure. He argued that the long delay and the type of proof used in court raised clear problems with the outcome.

Trump Jr. questions the evidence and compares the sentence length

According to The Independent, a jury found Brand guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault based on events said to have taken place in 1999. Trump Jr. focused on what he described as missing physical proof from that period.

“He was convicted, by the way, with no forensic evidence, no DNA, no police report from the time now decades old, on allegations dating back to 1999,” Trump Jr., who got heckled after the midterms, said. “So, when he was like married to Katy Perry, he’s one of the most famous actors in the world, no one seemed to have a problem. No one seemed to think he was a rapist then.”

London police said after the verdict that detectives are currently sorting through a new wave of reports from several people who contacted them during and after the trial. The Crown Prosecution Service is also reviewing two additional rape allegations.

Trump Jr. compared Brand’s term of more than 10 years to other serious cases in British courts. He said, “This raises what I think are some pretty obvious questions about why his sentence was more severe than, I don’t know, sentences handed to Muslim grooming gangs across the UK.” He added that some cases involving children had ended with lighter results, while Brand faces a long prison stay.

After the sentencing, Brand’s U.S.-based wellness business called Reborn began selling $34.99 “Free Russell” T-shirts that show his image. The shirts include a statement from Brand in which he said authorities are trying to “shut me up, shut me down, and squeeze me off every platform.” Brand had also drawn attention before the verdict for moderating a MAHA summit panel in Washington while facing charges.