Australian Man Expected to be Charged With Performing Nazi Salute

Signage on a police vehicle in Melbourne, Australia on Sept. 16, 2022. AAP Image/Diego Fedele

A Melbourne man is expected to be the first person to be charged under new state laws banning the Nazi salute.

The gesture occurred outside the Victorian County Court on Oct. 27, when 24-year-old Jacob Hersant allegedly performed the now banned Nazi salute in front of news cameras after he was spared jail for an attack on six hikers in 2021.

Upon gaining the attention of the news crew, Mr. Hersant raised his right arm at about 90 degrees from his shoulder and said, “heil Hitler,” before taking it down.

“Oh, nearly did it, it’s illegal now isn’t it,” Mr. Hersant said, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Mr. Hersant then walked away with Thomas Sewell, a leader of the National Socialist Network, who then called out “Australia for the white man, heil Hitler.”

Victoria Police said the 24-year-old Point Cook man was interviewed on Nov. 1 and is expected to be charged on summons.

“Police are taking a zero-tolerance approach to any breach on the prohibition on performing Nazi salutes or displaying Nazi symbols in public,” a Victoria Police spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email.

Under Victoria’s Nazi Salute Prohibition Bill 2023, which commenced on Oct. 21, it is a criminal offence for a person to publically display or perform gestures used by the Nazi Party—including the Nazi salute.

Victoria has already banned the display of the Hakenkreuz (twisted or hooked cross).

A person who has been found to have committed an offence could face fines of $23,000 (US$14,800), 12 months in prison, or both.

“Such displays cause harm to members of the Victorian community, and this is unacceptable. The ban sends a clear message that Nazi ideology and the hate it represents is not tolerated in Victoria,” according to the state government.

What if the Gesture ‘Resembles’ the Nazi Salute?

According to the new Victorian legislation, which amended the Summary Offences Act 1966, a Nazi gesture refers to a Nazi salute or any other gesture used by the Nazi Party, including a gesture that resembles a Nazi gesture or is “likely to be confused with or mistaken for that gesture.”

The Nazi Party refers to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP), which was active from 1920 to 1945.

The Hakenkreuz and the Nazi salute are the most widely recognised symbols and gestures used by the Nazi Party.

“They are used to incite hatred towards members of the Victorian community, which is why they have been explicitly banned,” the state government said.

A person is deemed to have committed an offence if they intentionally perform a Nazi gesture in a public place, a non-government school, or a post-secondary education institution.

But there are exemptions if the gesture is displayed or performed “for genuine academic, artistic, educational or scientific purpose.” This includes performing the Nazi salute at the theatre or a teacher showing a film for a history class.

In January, holocaust survivors called on the Victorian government to ban the Nazi salute, saying the gesture brings back the memories and pain of millions of Jewish people murdered.