LONDON, United Kingdom — A student who threw eggs at King Charles III during a walkabout last year, and later claimed he was responding to state violence, was on Friday found guilty of threatening behavior.
Patrick Thelwell, 23, threw “at least five” eggs toward Charles as he met members of the public in the northeastern city of York.
He denied the offense arguing in court that his use of “low-level violence” was “lawful” as it was self-defense against “the violence carried out by the British state”.
Judge Paul Goldspring, chief magistrate at the court in York, found him guilty of the charge, saying Thelwell “intended to cause King Charles to believe immediate unlawful violence would be used against him.”
The King and Queen Camilla had been in the city on November 9 to unveil a statue of the late Queen Elizabeth II at York Minster.
They were being welcomed by local dignitaries when Thelwell aimed five eggs which “came very close to hitting King Charles,” York magistrates’ court was told during the trial.
Thelwell was heard booing and shouting “this country was built on the blood of slaves” and “not my king” during the incident before he was detained by police.
Some people in the crowd reacted by chanting “God save the King” and “shame on you” at Thelwell.
Thelwell was sentenced to carry out 100 hours of unpaid community work.
READ: Historic crown to be modified for Charles III coronation