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A judge has confirmed that a far-right extremist executed a Nazi salute outside a courtroom, following an appeal hearing.
Jacob Hersant, aged 26, was the first person in Australia to be imprisoned for publicly performing a Nazi salute, an incident that occurred in November 2024.
This self-proclaimed neo-Nazi received a one-month jail sentence but promptly contested his conviction in the Victorian County Court.
After a three-day hearing in October, Judge Simon Moglia declared on Friday that Hersant was guilty of deliberately performing the salute on October 27, 2023.
Hersant, 26, had contested that he did not perform the infamous “sieg heil” gesture and argued that even if he did, the charge was unconstitutional, claiming it as a legitimate form of political expression.
Video played in court showed Hersant raising his arm to salute in front of media outside the County Court, about six days after Victorian laws banning the gesture came into effect.
He was then captured on camera saying “nearly did it – it’s illegal now” and “Australia for the white man, heil Hitler”, before walking away.
Moglia described the comments after the gesture as a brazen acknowledgement of his offending.