‘I’m a vegan’: Far-right extremist Neil Erikson’s bizarre arrest defence

United Patriots Front founder Neil Erikson has presented an odd defence as he fights allegations he crashed a sacred Muslim event.

Far-right extremist Neil Erikson shouted “I’m a vegan” in a bizarre defence to his arrest for crashing a sacred Muslim event in Melbourne.

Erikson, founder of the United Patriots Front, is fighting allegations he wilfully disturbed a peaceful Muslim festival held at Federation Square in April 2019.

Footage shown in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday showed him using a megaphone to yell “Mohammed was a terrorist” and “Mohammed was a false prophet” at a group of approximately 100 worshippers gathered at the holy SalamFest event.

Erikson, who is well known for his anti-Islamic views, could be heard telling police “we shouldn’t have these people here” after they hauled him away from the gathering.

“You’re going to let a foreign entity pray to a foreign god and you’re going to punish me?” he asked.

The footage showed Erikson, still holding his megaphone, attempting to go back to the event before being taken down by several officers.

Amid his arrest he yelled “I’m a vegan” in reference to Extinction Rebellion protesters who managed to block city traffic for hours before being disassembled by police days earlier.

In court, Erikson was self-represented and spent his cross-examination questioning witnesses about their Muslim faith.

Neil Erikson used a megaphone to yell “Mohammed was a terrorist”.

Erikson with police after he was lead away from the event.

At one point, he asked a female organiser of the religious event: “What authority do you believe you have over that space (Federation Square) verse someone else in the public?”

He also asked “if you want to have a safe space for you religion, isn’t that was mosques are for?” before the police prosecutor interjected, labelling the question as “demeaning”.

The woman, Ayesha, said her heart “broke into a thousand pieces” when she heard his hateful words at the worship event.

“As a Muslim, it cut through my heart. I went into shock and didn’t know what to do,” she told the court.

“I could see the volunteers getting upset and the elderly quite sad.

“I felt responsibility for the people there in the congregation and for their safety.”

Ramzi Elsayed, acting imam at the event, told the court he feared Erikson’s alleged actions could have sparked violence.

“I remember being very disturbed, hurt and offended and the next thing I felt was that I didn’t want anyone from our community to approach this individual and take this on because it could have escalated,” he said.

SalamFest aims to tackle Islamophobia in the community sharing the Muslim faith with society.

The contest hearing before Magistrate Rozencwajg continues.

@AneekaSimonis