Australia's 'Egg Boy' donates $70,000 to victims of Christchurch mosque massacre

Tens of thousands of dollars were raised for Will Connolly after he egged a far-right senator. He has donated the entire amount to those affected by the Christchurch shootings.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab & agencies

29 May, 2019

'Egg Boy' Will Connolly has given a large donation to the Christchurch massacre victims [Getty]

The Australian teenager who egged a far-right senator for his remarks about the New Zealand mosque massacre has donated almost A$100,000 ($69,000) raised for his legal defence to people affected by the killings.

Will Connolly, 17, became known worldwide as "Egg Boy" for cracking an egg on the head of right-wing federal Senator Fraser Anning at a press conference after the massacre of 51 Muslim worshippers.

Anning, who has since lost his seat in Australia's parliament, triggered outrage by claiming the attack in neighbouring New Zealand was the result of Muslim immigration to the country.

Two GoFundMe pages set up to raise money to cover Connolly's legal fees and to "buy more eggs" quickly attracted thousands of dollars in donations.

But a law firm volunteered to handle the case for free in which Connolly escaped charge. The Melbourne youth announced on Instagram on Wednesday that he had "decided to donate all monies to help provide some relief to the victims of the massacre... it wasn't mine to keep".

Twitter Post

"Finally!!! After a huge amount of red tape, $99,922.36 has today been transferred to the Christchurch Foundation and Victims Support," Connolly posted.

He added: "To the victims of the Tragedy, I whole heartedly hope that this can bring some relief to you.

Victim Support confirmed it had received a portion of Connolly's fund, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Connolly was let off with a police caution in April for the incident.

Anning, who had sat in Australia's Senate as an independent lawmaker after quitting the One Nation party early last year, is no longer in Parliament after he was voted out in the country's May 18 general election. The election saw Australia's conservative government hold on to power.

Anning had previously called for "a final solution" to immigration in the country, and demanded a Muslim ban to be enforced.

Follow us on Twitter: @The_NewArab