Paul Crowther has been identified as the 32-year-old man who threw a milkshake at British politician Nigel Farage on Monday.
Per BBC, Farage, the leader for the Brexit Party, was speaking in Newcastle when he was hit smack in the front of his suit with a massive milkshake. Crowther, a man from Throckley, Newcastle, told BBC it was his milkshake. Specifically, it was a Five Guys banana and salted caramel milkshake.
Here’s what you need to know:
Crowther Said His Milkshake Served a ‘Better Purpose’
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage hit by a ‘banana and salted caramel milkshake’ thrown by a protester in Newcastle
In the video above, you can see the exact moment Crowther tosses his sticky drink onto Farage. He was soon detained and taken from the scene in handcuffs, and has been arrested on suspicion of assault, per TIME.
Crowther said to BBC, “I didn’t know he [Mr Farage] was in town, I thought this is my only chance.” He continued, “It’s a right of protest against people like him. The bile and the racism he spouts out in this country is far more damaging than a bit of milkshake to his front.”
Crowther added, “I was quite looking forward to it, but I think it went on a better purpose.”
Following the Assault, Farage Condemned the Attack on Twitter
Sadly some remainers have become radicalised, to the extent that normal campaigning is becoming impossible.
For a civilised democracy to work you need the losers consent, politicians not accepting the referendum result have led us to this.
After the “assault” took place, Farage took to Twitter to condemn the attack against him. He tweeted, “Sadly some remainers have become radicalised, to the extent that normal campaigning is becoming impossible. For a civilised democracy to work you need the losers consent, politicians not accepting the referendum result have led us to this.”
Following that, he also gave a statement to Northumbria Police and said he would be pressing charges against Crowther, per Daily Telegraph reporter Christopher Hope.
Soon, Farage’s name was a trending topic on Twitter, with many weighing in on the incident in both defense and condemnation of Crowther’s actions.
One person wrote, “On this day, and on each anniversary of this day; I will drink a banana milkshake and think of the way a #Milkshake ran down the suit of Nigel Farage sullying him like he has tried to dirty our democracy, for years.”
In contrast, right wing American Jack Posobiec tweeted, “Anyone not calling out the attacks on Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson is not serious about ending violence in politics […] These are appalling displays of extremism and a dark indicator of what’s to come […] if this does not off-ramp soon Where does this end?”