First person charged over Nazi salute laws found guilty

The first person charged with performing the Nazi salute in Victoria has been found guilty of the offence.

Jacob Hersant, 25, stared straight ahead as Magistrate Brett Sonnet handed down his decision this morning.

Hersant pleaded not guilty to performing the salute on October 27, 2023, about six days after Victorian laws banning the gesture came into effect.

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Video played to Melbourne Magistrates Court showed Hersant performing the salute in front of journalists and camera crews outside the County Court.

He was then captured saying "nearly did it - it's illegal now" and "Australia for the white man, heil Hitler", before walking away.

Hersant claimed he did not perform the salute and, even if he did, the charge was constitutionally invalid as the gesture was a legitimate form of political expression.

Sonnet found Hersant intentionally performed a gesture that so nearly resembled a Nazi salute that it could have been viewed as such.

The magistrate also found the charge was legally valid.