Australians Demand to Know Who Threw at Sandwich at Their Prime Minister
A high school kid in Australia was suspended for two weeks for an attempted assault on Prime Minister Julia Gillard with a Vegemite sandwich. But the kid says he's just a patsy set up to take the fall the second sandwich thrower.
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The whole thing started Wednesday when Gillard paid a visit to a Brisbane high school for a routine photo op. But the day became anything but routine as she made her way through the excited crowd of pupils, and her security detail let down its guard just enough to allow the half-eaten lunch to be hurled in her direction.
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Here's the video that shocked a nation:
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School offiicals immediately named 16-year-old Kyle Thomson as the lone hurler and suspended him for 15 days. But in a shocking turn of events, Thomson denies that he did anything wrong, and in fact claims that he threw himself in front of the real sandwich thrower in order to protect the PM from near-certain breading.
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Listen to Kyle explain to an incredulous reporter how he knocked one sandwich out of the real assailant's hand and then reveals another shocking twist ... there was a second sandwich.
Naturally, the conflicting stories got conspiracy theorists roiling online, with Aussies posting their own thoughts, hypotheses, and jokes to the riveting #sandwichgate hashtag.
I refuse to believe @jonathanvswan's interview on #Sandwichgate until we get video from the grassy knoll: bit.ly/13CycTs
— David Ramli (@Davidramli) May 9, 2013
BREAKING: Costner reveals new evidence of a second thrower. #sandwichgate #auspol twitter.com/CanberraMemes/…
— Canberra Memes (@CanberraMemes) May 9, 2013
so turns out he was prevented a double sandwich throw - Victoria Cross in order?#sandwichgate #hero #auspol media.smh.com.au/national/selec…
— Daniel (@dankarney) May 9, 2013
Julia finally gets her legacy We can rest easy Australia, it's over#gillard #sandwichgate #auspol twitter.com/brnfst/status/…
— Wot do ya call this? (@brnfst) May 9, 2013
Adding to the intriguing puzzle, some are now claiming the sandwich was not even Vegemite! (Perhaps suggesting a foreign agent?)
It was a chicken sandwich, not vegemite! 15 y/o Kyle will be back at school tomorrow - video showed he didn't throw it at PM #sandwichgate
— Alissa Thibault (@AlissaThibault) May 9, 2013
Anti-Gillard sandwich was chicken, not Vegemite; now no longer classified as a deadly biological weapon #Sandwichgate
— Baz McAlister (@bazmcalister) May 9, 2013
It's not the first time Gillard or other Australian PMs have been targeted either.
Nine News uncovers a third occasion when a projectile was thrown at the PM see it tonight @9newsbrisbane #sandwichgate
— Sophie Walsh (@sophie_walsh9) May 9, 2013
Obviously, there are worse things that can be thrown at you, like shoes. As Gillard's predecessor, John Howard, once found out. And apparently it was an egg toss at then-PM Billy Hughes back in 1917 that led to the formation of Australia's Federal Police force. Gillard, however, took the sandwich assault in stride showing a brave face as she laughed off the incident. Though there are obviously still many unanswered questions that only a special parliamentary commission can uncover. (Like "Is this is all a massive inside joke that Australians are pulling on the rest of us?)
In the end, we think the assessment by Kyle Thomson, of the leader he bravely swore to defend, kind of sums up the whole matter:
"She doesn't have a big nose like everyone's saying. She's small and ... yeah, famous."
