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Australian teen who egged senator donates to New Zealand attack survivors
Online fundraising campaigns were set up for Will Connolly to “buy more eggs” and to cover potential legal fees. On Tuesday, Connolly announced that he had transferred “all monies” to New Zealand charities in charge of official fundraising efforts.
An Australian teenager, who broke an egg on a controversial far-right senator’s head for blaming Muslims for the Christchurch attack, has donated $69,000 to survivors of the New Zealand mosque attacks.
Will Connolly, 17, egged Fraser Anning in March, prompting people online to dub him the “Egg Boy” and flooded him with donations to pay his legal expenses, the BBC reported.
Anning had caused fury after the March 15 attack when he said Muslim migration was to blame for the Christchurch shootings that killed 51 people.
The lawmaker was formally censured by Australia’s Senate in April for his “appalling” remarks, made on the day of the shootings.
Connolly had confronted the senator from behind as he gave a press conference in Melbourne on March 16. Footage of the clash went viral. It showed Anning physically retaliating before his supporters tackled the teenager to the ground.
Online fundraising campaigns were set up for Connolly to “buy more eggs” and to cover potential legal fees. Police chose not to press any charges instead gave the teenager an “official caution”, the BBC report said.
On Tuesday, Connolly announced that he had transferred “all monies” to New Zealand charities in charge of official fundraising efforts. “To the victims of the tragedy, I whole heartedly hope that this can bring some relief to you,” he said.
Though his actions drew praise, they also sparked a conversation in Australia about forms of political protest.
(The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text, only the headline has been changed.)
