The co-creator of Father Ted, Graham Linehan, has told a court in London that he wanted to destroy the anonymity of a "young soldier" of the trans activist community.
Appearing before Westminster Magistrates' Court, Mr Linehan said that trans activists had made his life "hell".
Graham Linehan is accused of harassing a transgender woman, named Sophia Brooks, between October 11th and 27th last year.
He is also accused of damaging her phone. He denies the charges.
Graham Linehan also told the court today that he lost his marriage over his gender critical views.
Explaining why he has publicly expressed his views on this subject, he explained that he believed that trans activists were bullies, and that bullies made him angry.
He said he posted about Sophia Brooks online, because he wanted to destroy Ms Brook's anonymity, describing her as a "young solider" of the "trans activist army".
The 57-year-old also told the court that he threw Sophia Brooks phone at a Battle of Ideas's Conference in London on 19 October like "skimming a rock" across a river, after she had tried to film him.
However, he insisted that he did not intend to damage it.
Ms Brooks, who is now 18, was 17 at the time of the alleged offences.
While filming outside the conference venue, Ms Brooks approached Mr Linehan and asked: "Why do you think it is acceptable to call teenagers domestic terrorists?"
Ms Brooks told the court that Mr Linehan had called her names.
A video played to the court appeared to show Mr Linehan grabbing the complainant's phone.
The court previously heard that Mr Linehan had posted on social media about someone with the name "Tarquin", which prosecutor Julia Faure Walker said was the defendant's "derogatory term" for the complainant.
A prepared statement from Mr Linehan given during his police interview on 5 February was read to the court by Ms Faure Walker, in which he said: "I was first approached by Tarquin when I arrived at the venue and I was subject to a form of harassment with Tarquin approaching me and filming me at close quarters.
"This typically involved placing a phone immediately in front of someone's face only a few inches away and filming them while trying to provoke a reaction.
"People often try to block the phone and Tarquin treats that as a game.
"He had no respect at all for people's privacy or personal space. I had to try to ignore Tarquin as much as possible but was then confronted by Tarquin again at the end of the conference.
"Tarquin made a provocative statement about my current family position. I am now divorced and this is a very sensitive subject for me as he well knows.
"The taunting from Tarquin was completely unnecessary. In response I grabbed the phone and threw it to one side.
"I had had enough of the constant harassment from Tarquin and needed to stop him from taunting me any further.
"I did not intend to cause any damage and I do not know if it [the phone] was damaged or not, it was a reflex response to provocative actions by Tarquin.
"I accept I have referred to Tarquin in posts, but as a journalist I believe exposing the tactics of vindictive and aggressive trans activists is in the public interest."
Mr Linehan added in the statement that he "simply wished the harassment from Tarquin to stop".
Prosecutor Ms Faure Walker said Mr Linehan had posted on social media about the activist "relentlessly", and that his posts were "oppressive".
The prosecutor added yesterday: "They were verbally abusive and vindictive, and reflected Mr Linehan's deep disliking of Ms Brooks."
Mr Linehan has denied one count of harassing Ms Brooks on social media between 11 and 27 October last year, and a further charge of criminal damage of their mobile phone on 19 October last year.
Mr Linehan's legal team put it to Sophia Brooks that she deliberately attended the conference to annoy, irritate and harass the people there. The now 18-year-old denied the accusation.
The trial continues.
Additional reporting: PA
