Two alleged neo-Nazis arrested in Queensland ahead of national crackdown
Police have arrested three alleged neo-Nazis across Queensland and NSW, seizing weapons including swords with swastika symbols during a national crackdown on hate symbols.
An alleged neo-Nazi whose home had a stash of swords, axes and knives is among two Queenslanders arrested in a national blitz targeting hate symbols.
A 43-year-old Caboolture man – who is a citizen of the United Kingdom – faced court last week after Australian Federal Police (AFP) alleged he used social media platform X to spread hate speech against the Jewish community.
His arrest came ahead of a week-long national blitz on the spread and display of prohibited symbols, which has resulted in charges also being laid against a 21-year-old Queensland airconditioning technician and a 25-year-old Sydney man.
AFP’s Brisbane team in October started investigating the Caboolture man, who allegedly used two different handles on X to display the Nazi Hakenkreuz and support pro-Nazi ideology.
Police will allege the man posted content advocating for violence towards the Jewish community between October 10 and November 5.
It’s alleged X blocked the main account, which led him to create a second account with the same harmful content.
The man’s home was searched on November 21, where police found several weapons, including swords bearing swastika symbols, as well as axes and knives.
He was charged with three counts of public display of prohibited Nazi symbols, and one count of using a carriage service to menace or harass.
He faced court on Wednesday where his matter was adjourned until January 7.
The week-long national operation involved 14 separate disruption activities across Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australian and Victoria, which led to the voluntary surrender of multiple items containing illegal symbols.
The operation also saw the arrest of 21-year-old Queensland man Zachary Jarrod Hulse, who attracted police attention following the importation of a large amount of flags and literature.
He was charged with two counts of possessing or controlling violent extremist material.
At his bail application on Friday, the court heard Hulse allegedly imported about 160 publications and articles which included racially based acts of violence and white supremacy organisation over four years.
The court was told a PDF document titled “A practical guide to the strategy and tactics of revolution” written by neo-Nazi organisation Order of Nine Angles leader David Myatt, was found on Hulse’s phone.
He was refused bail, and will face court again on January 16.
On November 27, a 25-year-old Sydney man was also charged with performing a Nazi salute at a public gathering in Sydney. He is yet to face court.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt said the AFP would not hesitate to act against threats to Australia’s social cohesion, not just through the laying of charges but also through education, disruption and deterrence activities.
“This week of disruption was as much about ensuring people were not inadvertently committing criminal offences as it was about bolstering our efforts to safeguard social cohesion,” Mr Nutt said.
“The AFP will not tolerate any forms of intimidation, threats or calls for violence against vulnerable communities.”
The overt disruption activity was carried out by the AFP’s National Security Investigations (NSI) teams as part of a targeted focus on individuals and groups damaging Australia’s social cohesion.
The AFP set up the NSI teams in September to target groups and individuals causing high levels of harm to Australia’s social cohesion, including the targeting of the Jewish community.
