Australian nationalist activist Jacob Hersant is facing a year in jail after being found guilty of making a banned political salute in public.
Mr Hersant, 25, fought the charge, arguing that he did not perform a complete Nazi salute as his arm did not rise above 90 degrees, and that the Victorian laws were constitutionally invalid as they restrict legitimate political expression.
He faced court in Melbourne on Tuesday where Magistrate Brett Sonnet ruled that Mr Hersant had knowingly performed the salute, which he described as an “inherently political act” and “intertwined with Nazi ideology”, and that the laws were legitimate.
“The court finds that the purpose of the law is seeking to protect minority communities from harm caused by the public performance of Nazi gestures,” Mr Sonnet said in a summary of his 184-page judgement.
“Such purpose is, in my view, legitimate, in the sense that it is compatible with the maintenance of the constitutionally prescribed system of representative and responsible government.”
The maximum penalty for the offence is $23,000 fine or 12 months’ jail, and Mr Hersant will return to court on Tuesday for a pre-sentence hearing.
Mr Hersant told Noticer News that Mr Sonnet’s ruling had prioritised the supposed welfare of minority groups over freedom of expression.
“The magistrate has decided that it’s okay to make laws restricting the right to political communication of Australians if they protect the feelings of minorities.”
Australian nationalist Jacob Hersant is facing a year in jail after being found guilty of making a political salute.
He answered hostile questions from journalists outside court where he argued the ruling was a blow to free speech.
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Speaking to reporters outside Melbourne Magistrates Court following the ruling Mr Hersant said he would consider his appeal rights after reading the full judgement, said that he was not worried about going to jail, and that he remained steadfast in his national socialist political views.
Asked whether he regretted making the salute, Mr Hersant said: “not at all, it’s an honourable salute.”
“A lot of other people don’t think it’s honourable, as the magistrate said himself it harms minority groups, is there anything you want to say to those people,” a female reporter responded.
“How does political expression harm minority groups?” Mr Hersant asked.
“The court’s ruled itself that it harms minority groups, there are a lot of people out there that would be really hurt by what you did, and you don’t feel any shame at all for what you did?” she asked.
“I don’t feel shame for giving a political salute, no, those are my beliefs,” Mr Hersant replied.
Later in the exchange Mr Hersant said his views that White people were being replaced in Australia remain unchanged, that he will continue to make the salute in private, and that he believes the ruling sets a precedent against free speech.
“I think that a lot of White Australians don’t have a problem with national socialist ideals, and I don’t think they want laws against any kind of political expression,” Mr Hersant said.
While the reporters asked their questions bizarre scenes unfolded in the background as a black man, who is not known to Mr Hersant, appeared to make a full Nazi salute himself multiple times.
Free speech advocates criticised the verdict, with the Free Speech Union of Australia saying on X: “Most Australians abhor Nazism, but in a free society you don’t ban free expression even when most people disagree or disapprove of it.”
Mr Hersant performed the salute outside the Victorian County Court in October 2023 after he and European Australian Movement leader Thomas Sewell were sentenced for their roles in a clash with far-left provocateurs during a camping weekend.
The gesture had been banned in Victoria just six days earlier, along with the intentional public display of Nazi symbols, under the the Summary Offences (Nazi Salute Prohibition) Bill 2023, which was informed by feedback from the Jewish community, Holocaust survivors, Victoria Police, the Ethnic Community Council of Victoria.
Header image: Jacob Hersant speaks to reporters after the guilty verdict (supplied)
