Jacob Hersant becomes first Australian jailed for doing Nazi salute after losing appeal

Far-right extremist Jacob Hersant has been jailed for one month after losing an appeal against his Nazi salute conviction.The 26-year-old looked straight ahead as Victorian county court judge Simon Moglia re-sentenced him on Wednesday for the “contemptuous” offending.Hersant was the first Australian handed a prison sentence over the offence in November 2024, but he immediately appealed against his one-month jail term and conviction in the county court.At a three-day appeal hearing, he argued he did not perform the Nazi salute and, even if he did, the charge was constitutionally invalid.But Moglia disagreed, and in December found Hersant guilty of intentionally performing the salute on 27 October 2023.Video played to the court showed Hersant standing alongside fellow neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell as he raised his arm to salute in front of media outside the court, about six days after Victorian laws banning the gesture came into effect.He was then captured on camera saying “nearly did it – it’s illegal now” and “Australia for the white man, heil Hitler”, before walking away.In re-sentencing Hersant, Moglia said he 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.The offending was also in breach of Hersant’s corrections order, Moglia found.Hersant’s lawyer, Tim Smartt, accepted the breach but argued his client should not be jailed, pointing to other cases involving the gesture where offenders were fined or given corrections orders.Smartt said 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.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 argued.But 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.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.The state’s parliament recognised that the Nazi salute caused harm to Victoria’s diverse community, Moglia saidHersant’s actions were ultimately offensive and worthy of a one-month jail term, he found.Hersant was also convicted and fined $1,000 for breaching his corrections order.He was taken into custody at the end of his re-sentencing hearing.