Fury as neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell makes $30k in donations
Neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell created a fundraiser calling on ‘White Australia Supporters’ to help him become the full-time leader of an all-white’s commune, and it’s completely legal.
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A fundraiser calling for ‘White Australia Supporters’ to help a neo-Nazi become the full time leader of an all-whites commune is completely legal and will not be taken offline, despite widespread community concern about racially-motivated attacks.
National Socialist Network [NSN] leader Thomas Sewell published the campaign on the US-based Christian crowdfunding website, Give Send Go, just days after he and 16 others were charged with various offences at an Australia Day rally, including allegedly displaying a Nazi symbol.
The campaign generated more than $31,000 in donations in little more than a week.
“We need regular monthly support from all those who wish to assist us in our efforts to create a home for White people in Australia,” the post read.
“The tyrannical Australian government does everything in its power to silence and threaten the activists, community members and families of those who advocate for our folk.”
A portion of the money raised would go to “state and branch” to improve operations, resolving “pressing legal matters”, and provide basic living expenses for Mr Sewell to transition into a full time role as leader of the NSN. The bulk of the funds would go the group’s community land project.
Mr Sewell previously said the NSN had been looking for “rural properties with fertile soil and clean water systems to sustain the foundational wave of up to a dozen families in homesteading”.
The fundraiser page included a photo of dozens of NSN members at a pre-Christmas gathering at a Victorian property. The dress code was white. Photos of the event also featured on an X profile called White Aus Vic, which was later suspended along with a number of other far-right profiles, including Mr Sewell’s.
Comments on the page appeared to be racist, with terms such as “White power” and the derogatory phrase “Obliterate all blackpillers”. One supporter described the White Australia Police as “our greatest achievement”, while another likened Jewish people to the devil.
But the fundraiser appears to have fallen through a loophole because Mr Sewell did not explicitly use racist, defamatory or hate speech.
Police in Victoria, where Mr Sewell is from, said the campaign was “not a crime”.
It is also not a matter for the Australian Federal Police.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s office refused to comment.
Liberal Senator James Patterson said he hoped “our law enforcement and intelligence agencies have a close eye on this fundraiser, which could breach counter-terrorism financing laws.”
“No one should be hosting or donating to neo-Nazis and white supremacists so they can incite violence against other Australians.”
Australia has seen an alarming rise in anti-Semitic incidents over the past year, including a terrorist attack on a Melbourne synagogue, the arson of a childcare centre in Sydney, and the discovery of a caravan containing explosives along with addresses of key Jewish sites.
The Islamic community has also seen a rise in the number of attacks.
Julie Nathan, research director at the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said authorities should be keeping a close eye on neo-Nazi groups.
“We know what the neo-Nazis are like, what they believe and what they aim to do – they aim to follow in the footsteps of Hitler. They are people that we don’t want to have influence or power in this country, or influencing younger people,” she said.
“Unless they are breaching the law in any way, they’re entitled to raise money for their cause, like other extremists, but I think this is where we need police to be closely scrutinising these people – asking what they are raising money for, and whether there is anything illegal happening within those finances.”
Sewell has not been charged with any terrorism offences or in relation to the donations.
Give Send Go has been contacted for comment.
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