A man accused of rape is denying anger over a call from Barron Trump, court hears. The man, Matvei Rumiantsev, is accused of assault and two counts of rape, among other charges. He denies all charges. During cross-examination at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Rumiantsev denied being angry about the incoming FaceTime call from Trump. When questioned by the prosecutor, Serena Gates, he said he was 'quite used to her receiving calls' and 'didn't attach much weight to that one day'. He added, 'I wasn't angry, but I'll be honest, I was quite exhausted.' Rumiantsev told the court that the woman was in a 'hysterical state' when Trump called. He said he wanted to make her understand that what she was doing was wrong. The defendant allegedly raped the woman after spotting several missed calls from Trump during the day. He 'flew into a rage' when he noticed Trump calling her in the early hours of January 18, 2025, answered the call, and attacked her as Trump watched on FaceTime from across the Atlantic. The jurors were shown a video, which the prosecutor said showed the alleged victim on the floor, crying, with the defendant standing and saying to her in Russian, 'Do you understand?' He told Gates it was an expression, trying to make her understand that what she was doing was unreasonable. He added, 'Maybe that's why I answered the call [from Barron Trump]. I probably wouldn't behave like that in front of other people, especially Barron Trump.' The court had previously seen a transcript of the emergency call, in which Trump told the operator that he had met the alleged victim on social media. Barron Trump said in an email to police that he 'didn't expect her to pick up due to the time difference'. He added, 'The phone was picked up. The individual who answered was a shirtless man with darkish hair. This view lasted maybe one second... then the view flipped to the victim.'
