Jacob Hersant, a self-described Nazi, talks to the media outside the Melbourne Magistrates Court after he became the first person convicted in Australia of performing an outlawed Nazi salute, Melbourne, Australia, October 8, 2024
A SELF-AVOWED Nazi has became the first person to be convicted in the Australian state of Victoria after performing an outlawed Nazi salute.
Jacob Hersant gave the salute and praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in front of cameras outside the Victoria County Court on October 27, 2023, after he had appeared on an unrelated charge.
It was six days after the Victoria state government had made the salute illegal.
The Federal Parliament passed legislation in December that outlawed performing the Nazi salute in public or to publicly display, or trade in, Nazi hate symbols.
A Melbourne magistrate found Mr Hersant guilty, dismissing defence lawyers’ arguments that the gesture was not a salute and that the ban unconstitutionally infringed upon Mr Hersant’s implied freedom of political communication.
Mr Hersant is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday and could face 12 months in prison and a fine.
Outside the court Mr Hersant told reporters: “I do give the Nazi salute and I am a Nazi.
“I’ll still continue to give the salute, but hopefully police officers don’t see it.”
