Three charged in prohibited symbols crackdown as police focus on Nazi emblems
A UK citizen and two Australians are facing the full force of the law as police crack down on alleged use of Nazi symbols.
A UK citizen has been charged with allegedly showing Nazi symbols while in Australia as police crack down on a growing hate threat.
Police began investigating the 43-year-old, who was living in Queensland, after he was alleged to have used two X accounts to “espouse a pro-Nazi ideology with a specific hatred of the Jewish community, and to advocate for violence towards this community,”
It is alleged that after X blocked his first account, the man then created a second to continue posting “offensive, harmful and targeted content”.
Officers raided a Caboolture home in November and seized several weapons, including swords bearing swastika symbology, 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, harass or cause offence and will next appear in court in January.
These offences carry a combined maximum penalty of 18 years in prison.
It comes as Australian Federal Police officers spent the past week targeting the distribution and display of prohibited symbols.
A Queensland man, 21, was charged after a raid in Brisbane, sparked by the “importation of a significant quantity of flags and literature”, police said.
Officers said a review of the man’s electronic devices allegedly identified items determined to be violent extremist material and he will face Brisbane Magistrates Court in January.
While it is not an offence to import items containing prohibited symbols, the Australian Border Force will examine materials they suspect could threaten social cohesion and refer them onto the AFP for further investigation.
Meanwhile, a 25-year-old man from Sydney was issued with a court attendance notice after investigators executed a search warrant at a Castle Hill property on 27 November, 2025. It will be alleged the man used a Nazi salute at a public gathering in Sydney.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt declined to name the accused at a press conference in Canberra on Monday, however acknowledged that he was “in the public domain”.
He flagged that more people could face the law in relation to use of the Nazi salute at the public gathering.
“The investigation is ongoing, so we are looking through the evidence ... if further charges are identified we will make further arrests”.
“The AFP will not tolerate any forms of intimidation, threats or calls for violence against vulnerable communities.
“If we identify instances where this is happening, we will act swiftly to disrupt the behaviour, prosecute those involved and protect the dignity, safety and cohesion of our diverse community.”
