Will Connolly: A young man donated $100,000 to victims of New Zealand attack

Shaima Hafezy

The case of Australian young man Will Connolly turned into a fundraising campaign he used to help victims of the attack on two mosques in New Zealand in March.

Connolly is known for his anger at the statements made by an extreme right-wing Australian senator, who said: “Migrant Muslims are blamed for the attack on Christchurch.” This statement provoked the young man.

In response to Sen. Anning’s remarks, Connolly broke eggs on his head at a news conference, an incident that made the senator sue him. A number of young people launched a donation campaign to stand by the young man and pay the anticipated judicial costs through a campaign entitled “Donate to Buy More Eggs”.

The armed attack on the two mosques in Christchurch, southern New Zealand, last March, killed about 50 people, and injured dozens.

The attack was described by the New Zealand government as a “terrorist attack” carried out by far-right extremists, most notably the extreme rightist Renton Tarant, the bomber who broadcast the incident live on his page on social networking sites.

Under the campaign, about $100,000 was raised, and the funds were donated to New Zealand charities responsible for official fundraising efforts.

“I hope from the bottom of my heart to make it a little easier for you,” he told the victims of the tragedy. “I know that his behavior with the senator was not right,” he said.

Meanwhile, right-wing senator Aning was formally censured by the Australian Senate last April for his “horrific” remarks, but the police did not charge the senator. Instead, he issued a formal warning to the boy and said Ennig was defending himself.

Anning refused to apologize for his anti-immigrant comments, despite a petition signed by more than 1.4 million people, but failed to win a new term in the May 18 Australian Senate elections.