Student 'who threw eggs at King Charles' launches brazen bid to raise £10,000 for legal fees
11 November 2022, 11:56 | Updated: 11 November 2022, 12:12
An Extinction Rebellion activist suspected of hurling eggs at King Charles launched a bid to raise £10,000 for legal fees before his crowdfunding page was deleted.
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Student Patrick Thelwell managed to get almost £200 before the GoFundMe page was taken down on Friday.
He is alleged to have thrown eggs at Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, as they met crowds during Wednesday's walkabout in York.
Charles appeared totally unfazed by the demonstration as police intervened, while the eggs all missed.
Mr Thelwell, 23, posted a photo of himself smiling while holding an egg on his Instagram as he said he received death threats.
He has complained that the crowd turned on him during the stunt.
And now the York University International Relations masters student has begged for cash, saying he faces a fine of £5,000 and up to six months behind bars.
He told followers: "I acted in solidarity with all of the people worldwide sick of living in a society that punishes the weak and the poor and rewards the wealthy and the cruel.
"Together we can change the system to create a new world based on the values of solidarity, peace, justice, and love."
His GoFundMe has at least 18 donors before it got taken down.
He posted a picture of him being carried by police.
King Charles was walking around Micklegate Bar in the North Yorkshire city when eggs were hurled at him and Camilla.
He was visiting ahead of an unveiling of a statue to Queen Elizabeth II at York Minster.
Mr Thelwell told the Mirror the crowd was "literally screaming and wailing with pure rage" as he was arrested.
"Saying that my head should be on a spike, that I should be murdered on the spot," he went on.
"It doesn't faze me because I understand what fascism is, what it looks like."
But he also added that his arrest for public disorder was the "single most rewarding and worthwhile experience of my life".
His bail conditions include staying 500 metres away from the King and initially he was not allowed to have eggs in a public place, though this was lifted so he could do a food shop.
Mr Thelwell, who stood for the Green Party, said he is due in court on December 1 charged with a Section Four public order offence.
