Man charged with doing Nazi salute at march
A man has been charged with doing a Nazi salute at a march in Sydney’s inner west after he stepped in front of marchers and allegedly made threatening remarks.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Police were at an approved gathering in Newtown on Saturday at 2pm, with attendees marching down Victoria Street, in Camperdown, when a 20-year-old not associated with the event stood in front of the procession.
NSW Police say he displayed a Nazi salute and made threatening remarks before he was arrested and taken to Newtown Police Station.
The man was charged with knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol in public without excuse, and making a Nazi salute gesture in a public place.
He was granted strict conditional bail and will appear before Newtown Local Court on January 14.
Two of the first people convicted under laws that outlawed shows of Nazi symbolism had their guilty verdicts overturned on Thursday after a judge found their public salutes could not be definitively linked to the fascist German regime.
Nikola Marko Gasparovic, 46, Dominik Sieben, 25, and Marijan Lisica, 46, were accused of performing the salute at Parramatta’s CommBank Stadium on October 1, 2022 during the Australia Cup final match between Sydney United 58 and Macarthur FC.
The convictions of Mr Gasparovic and Mr Seiben were overturned but Judge Sharon Harris upheld the guilty finding against Lisica, who performed the salute seven times.
All three were among the first people charged and convicted in NSW under laws that made it a criminal office to knowingly display a Nazi symbol in public without a reasonable excuse.
The legislation passed state parliament in August 2022.
AAP
