Australian 'egg boy' raised $62,000 for legal fees after egging a senator. He's giving it to shooting victims.
"Egg Boy" is the not the newest member of the Avengers, but a few thousand donors think he should be.
After Australian Senator Fraser Anning put out a disturbing statement blaming "immigration" for the New Zealand mosque shootings that killed 50 people, Will Connolly, a 17-year-old from Australia, literally smashed an egg on his head. Supporters quickly set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to pay Connolly's legal fees — which the Australian teen now says he'll redirect to the Christchurch victims.
Anning, who The Washington Post says "may be Australia's most reviled politician," earned criticism across the board after suggesting that an "increasing Muslim presence" in his country and New Zealand prompted the Friday shooting. Connolly made his opinion on the statement pretty clear on Saturday, slapping an egg on Anning's head at a news conference. Anning punched back, but it was Connolly who ended up the hero in Melbourne, Australia, where a mural now commemorates him as "Egg Boy."
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Despite Connolly saying he would not pursue charges against Anning, supporters on Saturday set up a GoFundMe for his potential legal fees, per CBS News. Messages posted between the anonymous fundraising organizer and Connolly show he wanted "a majority of the money" to actually go to the Christchurch, New Zealand victims, and now the page promises that's what will happen. As of 10:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday, more than 3,000 donors have raised a combined $62,000 — far over its original $50,000 goal.
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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