The Brit who threw several eggs at King Charles III last year said police arrested him again during Saturday’s coronation ceremony “on suspicion of carrying eggs”.
Patrick Thelwell, 23, could be seen with his hands behind his back in the video posted to social media as a small group of law enforcement surrounded him and escorted him from the scene of an anti-British monarchy protest.
“This is fascism! I’m getting arrested just for being here!” Thelwell screams in the video, wearing a brightly colored fleece and a yellow “Not My King” sticker.
He was found guilty in April and sentenced to one year of community service for attempting to lay eggs last November; None of the projectiles appeared to hit the intended targets as Charles and Queen Camilla toured the English city of York. Video of the incident showed members of the public watching the royals loudly booing Thelwell, who was subsequently barred by a judge from carrying eggs in public.
Thelwell told The Guardian he thinks police saw him from an observation post near the coronation protesters.
“They saw me on their watchtower and the next minute I was handcuffed and being searched on suspicion of having eggs, I assume,” he said said The Guardian. “I had nothing in my pockets except condoms and a lighter, so they had to let me go.”
He told the outlet: “I brought absolutely no eggs. My parole officer tells me counterterrorism is after me.”
He wrote on Twitter: “For the second time I’ve been dragged through a crowd of monarchists barking for my blood.”
HuffPost reached out to the Metropolitan Police for comment, but received no immediate response.
Other protesters waved yellow “Abolish The Monarchy” flags, carried “Not My King” signs and held yellow umbrellas on what turned out to be a gloomy day in central London. Nonetheless, tens of thousands of supporters – some from overseas – flocked to the city to witness the action Estimated at £100 million Day of pomp and circumstance.
Authorities have been heavily criticized for arresting some British Republicans trying to make their voices heard. At one point, the police reported hit a truck with “Not My King” signs claiming that the string used to tie them into bundles could be used by protesters to illegally tie themselves to fixed objects in the street.
A new law The law, enacted just this week, gave police new powers to crack down on protesters, even those involved in peaceful demonstrations. Britain’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 also expanded police power over protesters who have moved growing conservative anger in the past few years.
“I am deeply concerned that people have been arrested while preparing to peacefully express their support for a republic, a view shared by 25% of the public,” said Labor MP Richard Burgon wrote on twitter. “That has to stop. It is a fundamental democratic principle that people have the right to express their opinions peacefully.”
London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement earlier this week that “tolerance for disruption, whether by protest or otherwise, will be low during the coronation”.
More than 50 people were arrested on Saturday, police said said CNN.