Neo-Nazi Joel Davis claims he’s only able to shower once every four days in prison as he fights to be released on bail
Neo-Nazi Joel Davis claims he can only shower once every four days in prison and has not been out since Christmas Eve as he faces allegations that he encouraged his supporters to “rhetorically rape” a federal MP.
Mr Davis, a senior member of the National Socialist Network, is accused of using a car service to harass Allegra Spender after she condemned a controversial rally outside the state parliament last year where 60 members of the NSN gathered.
In his last unsuccessful bail application in January, Mr Davis claimed he was no longer a member of NSN, just days after the group announced it would be shut down.
He is fighting for bail for the fourth time since his arrest by the Australian Federal Police in November over a tweet allegedly targeting Ms Candler.
The NSW Supreme Court heard on Thursday that Mr Davis had not been allowed out since Christmas Eve; The conditions of detention are one of a number of reasons why his lawyer Sebastian De Brennan said Mr Davis should be released on bail from Long Bay prison.
“He is being held in isolation because of his suspected political affiliations and has not been out since December 24 and has only showered every four days,” Judge Natalie Adams said on Thursday.
“These are unusual detention conditions.”
In a statement submitted to the court by his lawyer, it was claimed that Mr Davis “had not showered for four days”.
Neo-Nazi’s ‘friend’ presses for his release
Mr. Davis was beamed into court from the Long Bay prison, and a small group of his supporters gathered outside the courtroom during the proceedings.
Someone claiming to be a friend of Mr. Davis also tried to obtain a video link of Thursday’s hearing; but Judge Adams rejected the attempt, saying they “could come to court to watch.”
He told the court that another person claiming to be a friend of Mr Davis had applied for habeas corpus, a legal instrument that requires the release of a prisoner if courts find that he was being held illegally, a few weeks ago.
The court was told Mr Davis was expected to plead his case to a jury trial, but he had yet to enter a single plea to the charge of using a carriage service to threaten/harass/assault.
Judge Adams also said Mr Davis was charged with a further nine offenses in March 2026, but these were not read out in court and it was unclear at this stage what those charges were.
The court was told a trial would not likely take place until the end of 2027.
Political views have changed
The court was told Mr Davis had had the chance to consider the best way to communicate and deal with his political beliefs.
“But the major concern in releasing the applicant is what circumstances would ensure that this conduct would not be repeated, given that he clearly held these views and maintained them even though he had some insight into the consequences of approaching him in this way in the recent past,” Judge Adams said.
Mr De Brennan said his client had changed some of his political views and stated that he had missed the birth of his child due to being in custody and now wanted to focus on being a father.
While he argued that there were a number of conditions that could alleviate concerns about Mr Davis being released on bail, the Crown expressed concern that Mr Davis would not comply with court orders.
The Director of Commonwealth Prosecutions argued that Mr Davis could endanger the emotional well-being of the community if he were released.
“The alleged behavior may be as high as physical security as it has the capacity to induce others to influence the applicant’s desires,” he said.
“But it does, at the very least, pose a risk to the emotional safety of other individuals based on a pattern of disturbing behavior.”
Mr Davis lost three bail applications in the local court; The first bail hearing was held in the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday.
Judge Adams will issue his decision Thursday afternoon.
More to come…
