Once Aspiring Clown ‘Deeply Regrets’ Golden Gun Smuggling: Lawyer

A Floridian who flew into Australia with a golden gun in her luggage "deeply regrets" the arms smuggling, her lawyer told a Sydney court on Friday.

"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," Liliana Goodson's attorney, Chris Davis, said at a hearing, according to . "She deeply regrets the course of action that she took."

In April 2023, Goodson arrived in Australia with the hopes of attending clown school. Instead, she was arrested after the Australian Border Force found the 24k gold-plated pistol she'd packed, along with bullets for a different type of gun. She's since pleaded guilty on two charges of intentionally importing illegal goods.

Some initial reports on the incident identified Goodson as nonbinary, using they/them pronouns, though Goodson's lawyer uses she/her.

According to , Goodson also brought in "cat spine, squirrel feet and rabbit pee," though she declared those on entry. She did not declare the gun, but said during an August hearing that although she wanted a firearm "for protection," its presence in her luggage had totally "skipped my mind [sic]."

She was reportedly using synthetic marijuana at the time, and specifically when she packed her bags. But then, she also Googled "can I carry a gun in my suitcase?" before flying, and recalled that the search indicated "there would be no issues" as long as she didn't bring out the weapon during the flight.

Anyway, her lawyer told the court on Friday that Goodson's mental health had improved since the importing incident. "The creative side is coming back now," Davis said of his client, who is reportedly working on an album.

"She's capable of rehabilitation," Davis continued, "And she wishes for me to convey to the court how sorry she is for what she's done."

Goodson will be sentenced in December. On the bright side, it sounds like she has given up drugs, but no word on what happened with clown school.