A 17-YEAR-OLD boy in Australia, who last month struck a senator with an egg in a protest against comments he made about the Christchurch attack, will not be charged in relation to the incident.
Senator Fraser Anning – a far-right politician – was widely criticised for his comments blaming Muslims for the Christchurch shooting in New Zealand on 15 March.
In response, Will Connolly hit the senator with an egg, and then the senator hit the teenager before he was wrestled to the ground by Anning’s supporters.
Victoria state police said in a statement that after reviewing footage and interviewing both participants, they had issued an official caution to Connolly only, and Anning would not face charges.
They said they concluded Fraser Anning had acted in self-defence when he twice struck the teen afterward.
Connolly became a viral sensation following the incident and was nicknamed ‘Egg Boy’ by followers who supported his actions.
In a later interview with Australia’s Ten Network, he said he understood his actions were wrong.
“I understand what I did was not the right thing to do. I can understand why some people would react the way they did,” he said. ”There is no reason to physically attack anyone,” he said.
Police said they were still trying to identify a man who allegedly kicked Connolly while the teen was restrained on the floor by Anning’s supporters.
Anning’s colleagues in Australia’s Parliament passed a censure motion against him last week for divisive comments “seeking to attribute blame to victims of a horrific crime and to vilify people on the basis of religion, which do not reflect the opinions of the Australian Senate or the Australian people.”
Anning sits as an independent lawmaker and had dismissed the censure motion as an attack on free speech.
Last month he also defended striking Connolly, saying: “He got a slap across the face, which is what his mother should have given him long ago, because he’s been misbehaving badly.”
A petition online calling for the resignation of the senator has gathered 1.4 million signatures.
With reporting from AP.
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