Neo-Nazi Jacob Hersant has been sentence to one month behind bars for performing a Nazi salute, making him the first Australian to be jailed for the offence.
Hersant fronted County Court on Wednesday afternoon for sentencing following a failed bid to appeal that jail sentence, originally handed down by the Magistrates’ Court in November 2024.
The 26-year-old looked straight ahead as Victorian County Court Judge Simon Moglia re-sentenced him for the ‘contemptuous’ offending.
The father has become a prominent neo-Nazi figure in Victoria and was the first in the state to be convicted for performing the salute.
He had made the one-handed gesture while standing next to fellow neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell outside the County Court on October 27, 2023 – about six days after Victorian laws banning the gesture came into effect.
Hersant said ‘heil Hitler’ before adding ‘oh, nearly did it, it’s illegal now, isn’t it?’.
In re-sentencing on Wednesday, Judge Moglia noted Hersant performed the salute only minutes after being sentenced to a community corrections order over a violent affray in regional Victoria.
The judge said the gesture was contemptuous and showed a disregard to the authority of the court.
Neo-Nazi Jacob Hersant (above) has been sentenced to one month behind bars
Hersant (right) performed a Nazi salute outside court in October 2023
The offending was also in breach of Hersant’s corrections order, Judge Moglia found.
Hersant’s lawyer Tim Smartt accepted the breach but argued his client should not be jailed, pointing to other salute cases where offenders were fined or given corrections orders.
Hersant’s offending was less serious because he did not perform the gesture directly at a particular group or in a place like a synagogue, Mr Smartt said.
The 26-year-old was also provoked by the media and his crime did not cause the same level of harm as offenders who commit family violence or sexual assault, the defence lawyer said.
Prosecutor Daniel Gurvich KC argued Hersant performed the salute in a calculated fashion to achieve maximum impact.
He was not provoked by reporters and his actions were harmful to the Jewish community and other minority groups, the prosecutor said.
Judge Moglia agreed, finding Hersant made the decision to engage with the media and commit the offence.
‘He relished that opportunity at the time and his intention was to engage in the gesture in full knowledge it was being done … in the presence of the wider community,’ the judge said.
Hersant (pictured with Joel Davis and Thomas Sewell) previously attempted to appeal the one-month jail sentence
Parliament recognised the Nazi salute caused harm to Victoria’s diverse community, Judge Moglia said
Hersant’s actions were ultimately offensive and worthy of a one-month jail term, the judge found.
The 26-year-old was also convicted and fined $1000 for breaching his corrections order.
He was taken into custody at the end of his re-sentencing hearing.
