A woman who recently flew to Australia to attend clown college claimed she forgot that she was in possession of a gold-plated gun. Her phone told a different story. When she arrived at the country’s airport, she was arrested for possession of the firearm. Now she has been sentenced to one year in jail for the offense.
The Guardian reports that Liliana Goodson, a 30-year-old American, was originally arrested at Sydney airport in April of 2023 after officials at the airport discovered a 24-carat gold-plated pistol stowed away in her luggage. Police valued the gun at $3,000. Australia notably has strict gun laws and the government definitely frowns upon non-residents illegally importing firearms into their country.
Goodson, who eventually told authorities that she was in Australia to attend clown school and had brought the weapon for “protection,” was initially questioned by customs agents and gave some not altogether coherent answers about why she was carrying the ridiculous firearm around. The apparent dialogue between Goodson and said agents, which was divulged during the court proceedings, is truly something to behold. The Guardian reports:
“What about the gun in your bag?” she was asked by a customs officer.
Goodson replied: “Oh yeah, I forgot about that.”
A review of Goodson’s phone revealed she had searched online “can I have a gun in my suitcase?” and set a calendar entry with a note reminding her to “put gun in suitcase”.
In another reported discussion with local officials, Goodson told cops that she is “scared” of firing the weapon and that, should she be threatened, her plan was to just pistol whip her enemies.
Goodson’s attorney has defended her actions, claiming she was suffering from mental health issues at the time of the incident. “It’s taken her a while to get to this point but she’s here and she is sorry she packed the gun and shipped off the ammunition to this country,“ the would-be clown’s lawyer, Chris Davis, previously told the court. “She deeply regrets the course of action that she took.” Davis added: “She’s capable of rehabilitation.”
It was previously reported that Goodson had been using synthetic marijuana at the time that she packed her bags to leave for her trip. Goodson was using the cannabis to “self-medicate for past trauma,” local Australian news outlet writes.
The Daily Mail previously reported that Goodson had also brought a “cat spine, squirrel feet and rabbit pee“ into the country though, as the Daily Beast has noted, she declared those, so they didn’t pose a legal issue for her.
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