Neo-Nazi group targeted as police make four arrests
Four men have been arrested following a series of allegedly racist attacks linked to Australia’s largest neo-Nazi group.
Counter-terrorism and local detectives from Victoria Police raided five Melbourne homes and made four arrests on Thursday morning as part of what it dubbed a “day of action” against the National Socialist Network.
Three men aged 25, 23 and 21 were questioned over accusations of serious racial vilification and grossly offensive public conduct.
They were released but are expected to be charged on summons, police said.
The arrests follow several men dressed in offensive clothing allegedly verbally harassing two women in a retail store car park in Port Melbourne on October 31.
A 31-year-old was separately charged with two counts of intimidating a police officer/family member following a simultaneous raid.
The first charge was connected to online commentary following a peaceful refugee rally outside the Department of Home Affairs in Docklands on October 22 that was gatecrashed by masked men dressed in black.
The white supremacists marched on refugee supporters with an offensive banner and shouted slogans, with police using capsicum spray to push back the group.
The 31-year-old was also interviewed after a national flag was burned outside an embassy in Toorak on October 26.
He will face Ringwood Magistrates Court in February and could face further charges for potentially breaching the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act.
The force said in a statement that it takes a zero-tolerance approach to any acts of prejudice-motivated crime or intimidation of police officers.
In October, National Socialist Network figurehead Jacob Hersant, 25, became the first Victorian found guilty of intentionally performing the Nazi salute.
Hersant will be sentenced on Friday, with Magistrate Brett Sonnet foreshadowing jail time.
Fellow neo-Nazi and supporter Thomas Sewell, 31, told journalists he had the right to make political gestures and the magistrate’s decision would be challenged in a higher court.
The pair were sentenced over a violent attack on hikers in a state park in 2021, however prosecutors lost a bid to have the men serve more jail time, due to how long they were in custody on remand.
In NSW, three men were convicted in June of displaying a Nazi symbol without reasonable excuse after making the salute during a soccer match, a decision they have appealed.
Another three men pleaded not guilty in a Sydney court in September on allegations they performed Nazi salutes outside an inner-city Jewish museum in 2023.
AAP
