Victoria Police are seeking to charge notorious Australian neo-Nazi Jacob Hussant with “grossly offensive public conduct” after a crowd of about 30 masked men stormed Melbourne's Flinders Street Station.
Police arrested a 24-year-old man from North Melbourne at the scene on Saturday and are questioning him on suspicion of “grossly offending in a public place”.
Hussant, who became the first Victorian to be charged with giving a Nazi salute in public since a crackdown on the law in 2023, was released on remand and is due to appear in court at a later date.
He is expected to appear in Melbourne Local Court in September 2023 on the charges.
Eight other men were also questioned by police on suspicion of public indecency, but were released with summonses.
At around 4:10 p.m., about 30 people dressed in black stormed the main train station, chanting aggressive slogans and holding banners that read “Deportations Now.”
The unplanned protest was organised by the National Socialist Network, Australia's largest neo-Nazi and white supremacist group.
Victoria Police said the group quickly dispersed when officers arrived at the scene and confiscated their banners and flags.
“Police will be assessing the circumstances surrounding the protest and reviewing the views of those involved in the incident,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information or footage is asked to contact the Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online.”
In April, Hussant and fellow neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell pleaded no contest to their sentences for attacking a group of hikers during a protest at Cathedral Range State Park on May 8, 2021.
At the time, County Court Judge Kelly Blair sentenced Sewell to 37 days in jail, but he was released after the court acknowledged he had already spent more than six months in solitary confinement while in custody.
Husant was sentenced to 200 hours of community service.
Judge Karen Emerton told the court that Judge Kelly Blair was right to consider Sewell's term of imprisonment sufficient punishment.
She said the panel found Hussant's ruling was clearly improper but dismissed the appeal due to the court's “residual discretion.”
Judge Emerton said: “It would be counterproductive to remand him in custody as a young offender who has completed all 200 hours of work imposed under a community corrections order.”
Hussant and Sewell also took part in the infamous neo-Nazi Australia Day protest in Sydney earlier this year, when police blocked a group of about 70 masked men from marching at North Sydney station.
