A man seen out for a Christmas Eve walk was reported to police because of tattoos that allegedly featured a neo-Nazi symbol.
Officers received a report on Wednesday about a man in Newcastle, whose tattoo allegedly depicts a designated hate symbol.
Resident Ben Parsons claimed in a social media post, seen by news.com.au, that the man’s design included symbols associated with the Nazi SS.
The SS – or Schutzstaffel – was the Nazi regime’s paramilitary group which committed horrific actions during the Holocaust.
‘I had an encounter with a neo-Nazi while with my family at Bar Beach, Newcastle, on Christmas Eve,’ Mr Parsons said.
He alleged there was a reference to ‘white power’ and that the symbols were ‘flaunted’ in the days following the Bondi Beach terror attack, just over a week prior.
Two gunmen allegedly killed 16 people when they opened fire on the crowd during the Hanukkah by the Sea event on December 14.
‘A few people have asked me if I’m worried about putting my name in the media reports. No, I am not,’ Mr Parsons wrote.
A man seen out for a Christmas Eve walk was reported to police because of tattoos that allegedly featured a neo-Nazi symbol
Resident Ben Parsons said he saw the man while at Bar Beach, Newcastle, on Christmas Eve
Mr Parsons claimed the symbol was ‘flaunted’ in the days following the Bondi Beach shooting
‘My view is that the time for being worried about Nazis ended on April 30th, 1945. We need solidarity and unity, and Nazis should be worried about us, not the other way around.’
NSW Police have launched an investigation following reports, including one from Mr Parsons.
‘It is important that the community and police continue to work together to make NSW a safer place for everyone,’ a police statement to the Daily Mail said.
‘The NSW Police Force takes hate crimes seriously and encourages anyone who is the victim of a hate crime or witnesses a hate crime to report the matter to police through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or through Triple Zero (000) in an emergency.’
