Man jailed after mimicking Bondi beach terror attack on footbridge and making slurs against Jewish people | Sydney

A man who appeared to have faked a Bondi beach terror attack before slandering Jews has been jailed.

Zayne Jason William McMillan, 23, was extremely drunk when he went to Bondi beach with a friend six weeks after the shooting that killed 15 people.

“[The shooting] It was horrific, it was heartbreaking, it was just ongoing drama and trauma,” Judge Michael Barko said in sentencing the man Tuesday.

According to the agreed facts, McMillan was seen on the same Bondi footbridge involved in the attack on January 31, posing as if he were holding a long-armed firearm while his friend took photos.

Judge Barko sentenced him to 12 months in prison with a nine-month non-parole period.

Defense lawyer Stephen Alexander had previously said his client was not an ideological anti-Semite.

“What he said was anti-Semitic, but he didn’t go out of his way to be anti-Semitic,” Alexander said.

“He does not consider himself racist towards the Jewish community.”

Judge Barko rejected this, stating that McMillan was targeting Jews in his 35-minute tirade.

“There was no mention of any other faith, belief or culture,” the judge said.

The 23-year-old Dubbo man watched the sentencing via audiovisual link from Shortland prison near Cessnock and stroked his goatee as Judge Barko spoke.

The bricklayer received a reduced sentence after previously pleading guilty to three counts of aggressive behavior in public and two counts of intimidation.

He will be released on November 3.

On the footbridge, a First Nations bricklayer shouted, “Fuck the Jews.”

“I am a Koori, I can do whatever I want,” he said.

McMillan then made eye contact with his family and then verbally threatened a 47-year-old man who walked by.

“You want to leave? I’ll beat you. This is my fucking land,” he said.

The 23-year-old man cycled to Waverley Oval, where he intimidated the second Jewish victim, who was walking to the synagogue with his son, by making antisemitic remarks.

After falling off his bike he went to Bondi Junction where he continued shouting racial slurs.

He was arrested by New South Wales police on 4 February.

Alexander told the court on Tuesday that the incident was sparked when someone responding to his client shouted “liberate Palestine” on the footbridge.

Allegedly, “You steal land and kill women and children, just like the white man.”

The lawyer said his client had taken a mixture of alcohol, ketamine, MDMA and magic mushrooms.

A psychologist had also tentatively diagnosed the bricklayer as having a complex post-traumatic history from a deprived childhood.

Judge Barko noted that McMillan, who was on parole at the time, violated the imposed conditions by taking illegal substances and committing further crimes.

Outside the court, Alexander told the journalists that the sentence was a very fair result.

“My client is very pleased with this,” he said.

“He’ll move on with his life and I hope he’ll do much better when he gets out.”

In March the local court heard McMillan wanted to apologize to the court for his behaviour.

A direct apology did not materialize on Tuesday.

McMillan’s friend was charged with an arrest warrant for the incident.

Accused terrorist Naveed Akram and his father Sajid allegedly opened fire during Hanukkah celebrations at Bondi beach in Sydney on December 14.

15 people, including a 10-year-old girl, died and 40 people were injured. Sajid Akram was shot dead by the police.