BRISBANE: A man was yesterday slapped with a A$750 (US$803) fine for flashing his buttocks at Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Australia last year — and said he would do it again.
Sydney barman Liam Warriner, 22, pleaded guilty to one count of public nuisance during the 85-year-old monarch’s tour of the Queensland capital Brisbane in October. A second charge of wilful exposure was formally dropped by police prior to his sentence.
The Brisbane Magistrates Court heard Warriner dropped his trousers and ran alongside the queen’s motorcade for 50 metres with an Australian flag clasped between his buttock cheeks, Australian Associated Press reported. He told police it was a political protest to show his contempt for the monarch and elitist groups, the court heard.
Outside court, Warriner said he would do the same if other dignitaries visited.
“Any self-important, self-propagating elitist, I will happily bare my buttocks to,” he said.
Tens of thousands of people turned out to welcome the queen on a 10-day tour of Australia that took her to Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.
The queen is warmly regarded in Australia, a former British colony where she is head of state, though from time to time debate flares about whether ties to the monarchy should be cut and the nation become a republic. — AFP