Self-described Nazi becomes first in Australian state of Victoria to be convicted over Nazi salute

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - A self-described Nazi on Tuesday became the first person convicted in the Australian state of Victoria of performing an outlawed Nazi salute.

Jacob Hersant, 25, gave the salute and praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in front of news media cameras outside the Victoria County Court on Oct. 27, 2023, after he had appeared on a 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 nationwide performing the Nazi salute in public or to publicly display, or trade in, Nazi hate symbols.

A Melbourne magistrate found Hersant guilty, dismissing defense lawyers' arguments that the gesture wasn't a salute and that the ban unconstitutionally infringed upon Hersant's implied freedom of political communication.

Hersant is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday and could face 12 months in prison and a fine.

Three men were convicted in June of performing the Nazi salute during a soccer match in Sydney on Oct. 1, 2022. New South Wales state had banned Nazi symbols in 2022. They were each fined and have appealed.

Hersant told reporters outside court that he would consider an appeal to a higher court.

He said he did "not necessarily" acknowledge that he had given a Nazi salute when he was filmed by media cameras a year ago.

"But I do give the Nazi salute and I am a Nazi," Hersant said. "I'll still continue to give the salute, but hopefully police officers don't see it.”

Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich, a leading opponent of antisemitism in Australia, said the verdict filled him with a profound sense of relief.

"This is a historic and thundering day for justice and decency," Abramovich said.