Man charged after neo-Nazi march through Brisbane CBD

Police have charged man, 19, and issued three others with infringement notices following a large neo-Nazi demonstration in Brisbane. SEE THE VIDEO

Police have charged a man and issued infringement notices to three others following a large neo-Nazi demonstration in Brisbane’s CBD on Sunday.

Videos posted to social media showed members of the National Socialist Network marching through the CBD followed by a large police escort.

Members were heard chanting “Hail Victory” and “Australia for the white man, the rest must go”.

The phrase “Hail Victory” was adopted by the Nazi party in Germany and used by White Supremacists following World War II.

It is alleged during this time members of the group became disruptive and obstructed police, with four men being taken into custody.

Members of the National Socialist Network march through the Brisbane CBD surrounded by police.

A 19-year-old Victorian man has been charged with inciting others to incite vilification.

He is due to appear before Brisbane Magistrates Court on August 23.

A 20-year-old Victorian man and a 27-year-old Victorian man were issued infringement notices for obstructing police.

A 51-year-old Cooktown man was issued an infringement notice for contravening a police direction.

Investigations are ongoing.

It follows social unrest in the UK, with migrants targeted over the unconnected stabbing deaths of children at a dance class in Southport.

It also comes amid an upsurge in antisemitism in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 terror attacks and the subsequent war in the Gaza Strip.

The National Socialist Network is reported to be Australia’s largest white supremacist group formed from the Lads Society and the Antipodean Resistance, in 2020

A few weeks ago, the group held a demonstration in Melbourne, where 30 people paraded through Federal Square to Flinders Street Station.

Protesters were dressed in black and marched with a large “mass deportation now” banner. During the Melbourne demonstration, a 24-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly performed an outlawed Hitler salute in public.

A similar event was held in Sydney earlier in the year, where police stopped dozens of neo-Nazis on a train as they tried to enter the CBD to stage an Australia Day protest as “white Australians”.

Members of the National Socialist Network march through the Brisbane CBD.

Publicly displaying hate symbols such as Nazi flags and tattoos in Queensland is illegal, under new laws passed by state parliament last year.

Premier Steven Miles said the racist behaviour was “nothing short of abhorrent”.

“I absolutely condemn it,” he said.

“This is not the Queensland I live in and it is not the Queensland I lead. We are a state full of many cultures, which should be celebrated.

“Thank you to the police who spend their days keeping our communities safe.”

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli slammed the marchers.

“I condemn this provocative and pathetic behaviour in the strongest possible terms,” he said.

“These small-minded fools should have the book thrown at them because racism has no place in our country. None.

“This does not and will never represent who we are as Queenslanders. We will never allow ourselves to be intimidated by people who seek to spread hate like this. Never.”

The group was tracked by a large police escort.

Jewish and Islamic community leaders denounced the white supremacists and decried the breakdown in social cohesion.

Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies president Jason Steinberg said images of men clad in black marching through the streets of Brisbane added to the fear the Jewish community in Queensland had been feeling.

“Some members of the Jewish community let me know about (the march), they rang me because they saw it and they were fearful,” he said.

Mr Steinberg said there were holocaust survivors living in Queensland today who had witnessed for themselves the pure evil and hatred of Nazi ideology.

Four men were arrested during the demonstration.

“If this is inciting others to rally and be hateful then it should be investigated and the people marching the streets of Brisbane arrested, it’s not acceptable,” he said.

Islamic College of Brisbane chief executive Ali Kadri denounced the actions of the marchers and warned the re-emergence of Nazi ideology needed to be curbed.

Mr Kadri called for Australian leaders’ rhetoric across politics, the community and media to undertake debates in a more “reasonable manner” or risk a breakdown in society.

“The more aggressive we get in our disagreements, the more these kinds of groups are empowered,” he said.

Demonstrators clash with police.

A man is arrested during the Neo Nazi demonstration.