Victorian police are investigating a man who allegedly made a Nazi salute on the steps of the county court on Friday, just a week after the gesture was made illegal in the state.
Neo-Nazi group leaders Thomas Sewell and Jacob Hersant were convicted on Friday after pleading guilty to a violent affray in the Cathedral Range state park in May 2021.
The pair were being interviewed by reporters outside court, when footage shows Sewell saying “heil Hitler” and Hersant raising his arm in an alleged Nazi salute before stopping and saying “Nearly did it … it’s illegal now isn’t it?”. He then smiles as the pair walk off.
A spokesperson for Victoria Police said on Friday the incident was now under investigation.
“Victoria Police is investigating after allegations a man performed the Nazi salute and [another] said ‘heil Hitler’ outside a Melbourne court on 27 October,” the spokesperson said.
“Police will be taking a zero-tolerance approach to any breach on the prohibition on performing Nazi salutes or displaying Nazi symbols in public.”
The spokesperson said it is the first reported incident to police since the ban on the Nazi salute in Victoria went into effect just one week ago.
Sewell and Hersant were among far-right National Socialist Network and European Australian Movement members who set upon a group of friends hiking in the park, the court heard.
Judge Kellie Blair said Sewell, now 30, was the leader of the European Australian Movement at the time, while Hersant, now 24, led the National Socialist Network.
Blair said a group of friends hiking in the park had seen stickers on their walk with the “Australia for the white man” phrase prior to being attacked.
They also saw men wearing black shirts emblazoned with a white Celtic cross, the emblem of the European Australian Movement, and speculated that they may be neo-Nazis.
When they crossed paths again in the car park, one of the group Googled neo-Nazi symbols and took a video of the other men.
Blair said 10 to 15 men from Sewell’s and Hersant’s group ran towards a car, concealed their identities and threatened the friends. The court heard one was carrying a knife.
Prosecutors claimed Sewell injured his arm on a broken window, either by breaking it himself or reaching into the car, while Hersant was said to have reached through the driver’s side window to either turn off the car or grab the keys.
Blair said while the offending arose from their association with neo-Nazi groups, she did not consider it to be related to their political views.
Sewell was sentenced to one month and seven days’ imprisonment, which he has already served, while Hersant was sentenced to three days’ prison time, already served, and ordered to perform 200 hours of community work over 14 months.
Blair said that with family support, being young fathers, having good employment prospects and limited involvement in the criminal justice system “prospects for rehabilitation are good” for both men.
Despite the guilty pleas, outside the court Sewell claimed the organisations had always been respectful to members of the public.
There are two sides to every story, he said.
“We have behaved honourably at all times,” he said.
“We are a law-abiding organisation.
“We’re looking for political change in this country and we’re not looking to harm or hurt anyone.”
Under the new laws, anyone who displays or performs a Nazi symbol or gesture in public will face penalties of up to $23,000, 12 months’ jail or both. The salute is also banned in Tasmania and New South Wales.
Australian Associated Press contributed to this report
