The 17-year-old boy who smashed an egg on the back of Senator Fraser Anning’s head has been inundated with offers of free concert tickets from Australian bands.
Will Connolly, from Victoria, was behind Mr Anning at a Conservative National Party Meeting in Melbourne, on Saturday afternoon, when he egged the senator.
A short scuffle ensued and the schoolboy was grabbed around the neck, tackled to the ground and restrained by up to five men.
The incident was captured in confronting footage showing the teen being arrested and later removed from the premises.
Will Connolly, 17, (pictured) has been inundated with offers of free concert tickets from Australian bands
Will Connolly, from Victoria, was behind Mr Anning at a Conservative National Party Meeting in Melbourne, on Saturday afternoon, when he egged the senator
Since the video has gone viral, a GoFundMe page has been set up to pay for the teenager’s legal fees and ‘to buy more eggs’.
‘Our hero EggBoi takes on Fraser Anning, the senator for Queensland that is now despised around the world for comments made after the shooting at a New Zealand mosque,’ the GoFundMe page says.
It has since exceeded the $2,000 goal with more than 14,000 shares on Facebook and more than 1,400 people donating to the cause in just one day.
It has since reached over $35,000 and is still climbing with no signs of slowing down.
‘I have spoken to EggBoi (Will) on the phone a short while ago and he is committed to sending a majority of the money to the victims of the Christchurch terrorist attack. I will keep you all updated with how everything pans out,’ an update on the GoFundMe page says.
Since the video of the egging went viral, the teen has seen his online following soar and even gained recognition from a number of prolific Australian bands.
The internet has provided lots of support behind Will, with bands and music festivals expressing their admiration for the teen’s actions on Twitter.
Several Australian music groups have offered the 17-year-old with free concert tickets for life, including Hilltop Hoods, The Amity Affliction, The Living End and Violent Soho.
‘Egg Boy, you have free entry to any Hoods show for life should you wish,’ Hilltop Hoods wrote on Twitter.
‘If Egg Boy likes Amity he can have free entry +1 to all of our shows forever,’ Joel Birch from The Amity Affliction posted.
Several Australian music groups have offered the 17-year-old with free concert tickets for life, including Hilltop Hoods, The Amity Affliction, The Living End and Violent Soho
‘Holy s**t, he full smacks him with a lefty and egg boy just cops it and keeps filming. Cool as ya like mate, what a legend! Egg boy has guest list for life. Hell, he can be our official photographer too… Love you egg boy!’ Violent Soho tweeted.
‘This kid is welcome at any TLE show. Anytime. Anywhere. In egg boy we trust,’ The Living End wrote.
He’s even received the offer from some groups in the United States, such as American hip-hop festival Rolling Loud and indie folk band The Mountain Goats.
‘Someone put us in touch with Egg Boy because we want to give him free tickets for life,’ Rolling Loud wrote.
‘Guest list for life for there #eggboy,’ The Mountain Goats said.
Since the video of the egging went viral, the teen, has seen his online following soar and even gained recognition from a number of prolific Australian bands
After he was wrestled, and some Anning supporters even held him in a choke hold, the boy was then led away by police
Will’s Instagram now boasts more than 269,000 followers and his Twitter feed is flooded with fans calling him a ‘hero’ and affectionately renaming him Egg Boy.
The hashtag EggBoyHero is now trending on Twitter worldwide.
‘Thank you for your love and support,’ he has since written to his newfound fans.
Since the video’s wide circulation, Adam Houda, a high profile criminal lawyer who has defended men charged with terrorist-related offences in the past, is now demanding Mr Anning face charges for his actions.
On Twitter, the lawyer said it was a clear case of assault on a child.
Twitter has erupted with praise of Egg Boy with many creating ‘fan art’ to show they stand with the 17-year-old
Mr Connolly was wrestled to the ground by members of the public after egging Mr Anning during his press conference
The teen even has backing from high-profile criminal lawyers, including Adam Houda, who has publicly stated he will represent him in court free of charge
‘I’ve just seen the footage of the Fraser Anning egging. Anning reacts by assaulting the young man. The police are now obligated to charge Anning,’ he tweeted.
‘I’ve been a lawyer for over two decades and in my opinion there is no argument that Anning was acting in self-defence.’
Mr Houda, who is the former lawyer of Sydney Lindt Cafe siege gunman Man Haron Monis, has offered to represent the teenager free of charge.
‘The video evidence is clear. Anning has NO defence. I’ll be monitoring the situation carefully.
‘I’ve never chased a client, but I’ve put it out there that I’m happy to help him (pro bono) It’s now up to him and his parents.’
High profile lawyer Adam Houda has called for Fraser Anning to be charged after he took a swipe at a protester who egged him during a press conference
Adam Houda, known as the go-to lawyer for men charged with terrorist-related offences, is now demanding Mr Anning face charges for his actions
Victoria Police released a statement saying they are continuing to investigate the incident ‘in its entirety’ including the actions of Mr Anning and others.
Disturbing footage has also emerged showing Mr Anning’s supporters holding the boy to the ground in a choke hold as others taunted the teen.
‘You are nothing but a weak f****** human being,’ a man could be heard saying.
The egging came a day after Mr Anning released a statement where he blamed Muslim immigration for the terror attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand on Friday, where 50 people were killed.
‘The real cause of the bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place,’ his statement said.
Senator Anning (pictured) took a swipe at a left-wing activist at a protest rally after the 17-year-old cracked an egg on his head
The support for Mr Connolly has grown exponentially in just one day, with the hashtag EggBoyHero now trending worldwide on Twitter
He faced wide-spread backlash following the release of his statement.
A Change.org petition calling for Mr Anning to be removed from parliament has been signed over 750,000 times.
‘Senator Fraser Anning has no place in the government of our democratic and multicultural country,’ the petition says.
‘We request that he be expelled from his position as Senator, and investigated by law enforcement agencies for supporting right wing terrorism.’
The petition speaks about Mr Annging’s statements about the Christchurch attack.
‘We call on the Australian government to expel this man who blames victims for their own violent deaths, and uses references to genocide to further his hateful agenda,’ the petition said.
A short scuffle ensued before the man was tackled to the ground by other members of the public
Attendees of the event held the young man on the ground after the physical altercation
‘There is no place in Australian government for Neo-Nazis. There is no place for bigotry. There is no place for hate speech.’
Politicians have roundly condemned Mr Anning for his comments.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison also hit out at the independent senator’s comments in a tweet on Friday.
‘The remarks by Senator Fraser Anning blaming the murderous attacks by a violent, right-wing, extremist terrorist in New Zealand on immigration are disgusting. These views have no place in Australia, let alone in the Australian Parliament.’
Labor frontbencher Tony Burke told the ABC ‘the normalisation of bigotry is something that is not only confined to him’.
‘We need to call it out, we need to make sure that no way any member of parliament fosters it. He wants the conflict and he wants the notoriety,’ he said on Saturday.
Senator Anning’s statement in full
New Zealand Mosque Shooting
Speaking following reports of multiple shootings at two Mosques in New Zealand earlier today, Senator Fraser Anning has responded with strong condemnation.
‘I am utterly opposed to any form of violence within our community, and I totally condemn the actions of the gunman,’ he said.
‘However, whilst this kind of violent vigilantism can never be justified, what it highlights is the growing fear within our community, both in Australia and New Zealand, of the increasing Muslim presence.
‘As always, left-wing politicians and the media will rush to claim that the causes of today’s shootings lie with gun laws or those who hold nationalist views but this is all cliched nonsense.
Anning has sparked outrage after blaming immigration for the mosque shootings in 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.
‘Let us be clear, while Muslims may have been the victims today, usually they are the perpetrators. World-wide, Muslims are killing people in the name of their faith on an industrial scale.
‘The entire religion of Islam is simply the violent ideology of a sixth century despot masquerading as a religious leader, which justifies endless war against anyone who opposes it and calls for the murder of unbelievers and apostates.
‘The truth is that Islam is not like any other faith. It is the religious equivalent of fascism. And just because the followers of this savage belief were not the killers in this instance, does not make them blameless.
‘As we read in Matthew 26:52, ‘all they that take the sword, shall perish by the sword’ and those who follow a violent religion that calls on them to murder us, cannot be too surprised when someone takes them at their word and responds in kind,’ Senator Anning concluded