MELBOURNE, Australia — A man who identifies as a Nazi has become the first individual in Australia to receive a prison sentence for executing a prohibited salute, receiving a one-month jail term from a magistrate on Friday.
Jacob Hersant, who is 25 years old, has also distinguished himself as the first individual in Victoria state to be found guilty of making the Nazi salute. This gesture was made illegal at the national level after he committed the act.
Last month, Hersant was convicted in the Melbourne Magistrates Court for performing the salute in front of news cameras outside the Victoria County Court on October 27, 2023. He had just managed to evade a prison sentence related to a previous conviction for inciting violent disorder, just days before the state parliament made the Nazi salute illegal.
Initially, Magistrate Brett Sonnet granted Hersant bail after his conviction, but that ended on Friday when he was sentenced to a month in prison. The maximum penalty Hersant faced could have been up to 12 months of imprisonment along with a fine of 24,000 Australian dollars (approximately $16,025).
Hersant’s attorney, Tim Smartt, stated that they intend to appeal the sentence and will seek bail from a higher court while the appeal is underway. Smartt argued that incarcerating his client for a non-violent act was unwarranted.
“It’s unjustifiable to send a 25-year-old to prison,” Smartt expressed to the magistrate.
However, Magistrate Sonnet deemed that a prison sentence was fitting, stating, “If there had been physical violence, I would have considered a sentence close to the maximum penalty.” He noted that Hersant was attempting to advance Nazi ideology in a public manner and that the court believed he leveraged the media to publicize extreme political views.
According to Sonnet, Hersant was affiliated with the National Socialist Network, a group advocating for white supremacy and the expulsion of immigrants, among other right-wing agendas. While executing the salute last year, Hersant glorified Adolf Hitler and proclaimed, “Australia for the white man.”
Sonnet remarked that such statements were “clearly racist” and aimed to endorse white supremacy in Australia, adding, “To put it plainly, the white man is not superior to any other race.”
Hersant’s legal team contended that his statements and actions fell under the implied constitutional right to political communication. As he entered the court on Friday, Hersant reiterated his belief in the right to express his political opinions.
“We’re planning to argue that the law is constitutionally invalid, claiming it is emotional and anti-white,” Hersant told the media. “It’s my political belief, and I believe it’s a worthwhile fight for us to contest in court to deem these laws invalid.”