Fraser Anning, an Australian senator who blamed Muslims for the recent massacres at two mosques in New Zealand, was hit in the head with a raw egg while speaking Saturday. Police are investigating his reaction.
Mr. Anning was addressing reporters in Melbourne about Friday’s rampage when he was unexpectedly egged from behind, creating a loud cracking sound and leaving him covered in yolk.
Cameras captured the far-right politician being caught off guard by the culprit —a teenage boy — before subsequently responding by striking him.
“The 69-year-old retaliated and struck the teen twice before he was taken to the ground and restrained by by-standers,” Victoria Police said in a statement describing the incident. “Police at the front of the venue were notified, attended and arrested the 17-year-old shortly thereafter.”
“The teen was removed from the premises and his details were taken before he was released,” said the statement. “The incident is being actively investigated by Victoria Police ’in its entirety’ including the actions of the 69-year-old man and others.”
The altercation unfolded on camera as Mr. Anning, a senator for Queensland, faced condemnation and calls to resign over a statement he issued in the aftermath of dozens of people being slaughtered Friday at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
“The real cause of bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place,” said Mr. Anning. “World-wide, Muslims are killing people in the name of their faith on an industrial scale,” he insisted.
Scott Morrison, the Australian prime minister, said he expects Parliament to pass a resulting censuring Mr. Anning for the statement once the next legislative session convenes.
Video footage of Saturday’s altercation clearly shows the unidentified teen cracking the egg on Mr. Anning’s head as the senator spoke to reporters following a speaking engagement.
Clips of the incident spread virally in the hours afterward, and terms like “Egg Boy” and various iterations trended on social media platforms as users praised the teen for taking a crack at the Islamophobic legislator.
“Money for EggBoi,” a fundraising campaign launched to cover the teen’s legal fees and “more eggs,” had raised more than $10,000 of a $2,000 goal within 14 hours of being created Saturday.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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