Fraser Anning, a far-right Australian zealot, should really get more of this. Annings's comments on Friday suggested that Muslims were somehow to blame for the attacks in New Zealand got him widespread condemnation, but attention is just what his sort craves.

Anning wrote in his statement, "“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.”

Asshole.

Source: The Guardian

An Australian senator who blamed the New Zealand terror attack on Muslim immigration has punched a 17-year-old boy after he was egged at an event in Melbourne.

Video footage recorded at the event appears to show Fraser Anning, a far-right independent Queensland senator, halfway through a press conference when the teenager cracked an egg over his head while filming with a mobile phone. The senator responded by punching the 17-year-old. The teenager was then tackled to the ground by Anning’s supporters and held in a chokehold.

The boy was later take away by police and released without charge. Victoria police are investigating the incident.

Anning was criticised on Friday after trying to seek attention by saying the mosque attack highlighted a “growing fear over an increasing Muslim presence” in Australian and New Zealand communities.

The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, said Anning’s comments blaming the Islamic community for the shooting were “appalling and ugly and they have no place in Australia”.

This kind of sophomoric prank has a long history in politics; obviously C&L does not condone physical assault or police violence in response. -- eds.