‘Act of crass stupidity’: man who threw milkshake on Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage gets community service
- Prosecutor argued in court that Farage would not have known whether it was a harmless liquid or something ‘far more sinister’
Paul Crowther, 32, admitted assault and criminal damage to a lapel microphone on Farage’s suit after dousing him with a milkshake while he was campaigning for European elections in Newcastle, northeast England, on May 20.
Judge Bernard Begley told Crowther he was guilty of an “act of crass stupidity”, ordering him to do 150 hours of unpaid work.
“I suppose for the split second the attack took place, Mr Farage would not know whether it was a harmless liquid or something, in this day and age, far more sinister,” prosecutor James Long told North Tyneside Magistrates Court.
Numerous members of parliament have been subject to death threats and harassment over their positions on Brexit since the vote to leave the European Union, and Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death by a Brexit supporter in June 2016, a week before the referendum vote.