Neo-Nazis unrepentant after dawn service booing saga
Neo-Nazis who disrupted the Anzac Day dawn service by booing Welcome to Country have vowed to continue their campaign.
Jacob Hersant, 27, Michael Nelson, 22, and Nathan Bull, 24, were found guilty on Thursday of committing offensive conduct in a public place during a 2025 service at the Temple of Remembrance in Melbourne.
Ian Harvey Lomax, 35, who was linked to the booing incident, was also found guilty and sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.
Some 50,000 people stood under the Temple in the pre-dawn darkness as Burunong elder Mark Brown delivered his Welcome to Country speech when the peace was broken by shouts and boos from the crowd.
Judge James Fitzgerald said Hersant, Bull and an unknown man began booing from the crowd, with Hersant shouting “we don’t want to be welcome” and “What about the Anzacs”.
Nearby, Nelson and Lomax also booed, and when members of the crowd told them to stop and show respect, Nelson deliberately provoked them with ideas to cause distress, saying “Australia is for the white man” and “fighting for white people”.
The judge cited witnesses who described how the men’s actions left them disgusted and embarrassed while a woman cried.
“Dawn services are not a time for noisy debates, heated debates or political views,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. he said.
“This is ingrained in the fabric of Australian society. That was the context. That’s what the behavior disrupted.
“You took it upon yourself to impose your views on a sacred event.”
He said the quiet and respectful nature of dawn services was above any politics and that the men’s “extreme” behavior was likely to arouse resentment and anger in reasonable people.
But it took into account the varying levels of participation of each man on the day.
Hersant and Nelson were convicted and fined $1900, while Bull was fined $1000 and Lomax $800.
Prosecutor Ryan Mallia said the serious nature of the booing had maximum impact as it was potentially heard by all participants and broadcast on live television on this solemn day commemorating fallen soldiers.
The men argued that the incident was not offensive because public opposition to Welcome to Country ceremonies at Anzac dawn ceremonies was widespread, citing an interview with former prime minister Tony Abbott and a study by the Institute of Public Affairs.
As three of the men were leaving the court, they were cornered and began arguing with anti-fascist activist Jasmine Duff, before police had to intervene and separate the two parties.
Hersant defended his actions that day as honorable and said the group was “not sorry for what we did.”
“The decision does not surprise me. That is the situation,” he told reporters.
“This will in no way deter me from expressing my point of view. I think people should continue booing Welcome to the Country.”
The incident sparked widespread condemnation from the RSL and political leaders, with Temple of Remembrance acting president Catherine Carrigan condemning the “disgraceful and disrespectful behaviour” on Thursday.
Colonel Carrigan said the decision reflected the seriousness of any behavior that would jeopardize the sanctity of the dawn ceremony.
“While the actions of a small number of individuals received significant attention, they were in stark contrast to the actions of the overwhelming majority who came to honor veterans and those who have served our nation,” he said.
Anzac Day dawn celebrations were booed again in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth in 2026.
Eli Joseph Toby, who was booed during Uncle Ray Minniecon’s Welcome to Country ceremony at a dawn ceremony in Sydney in April, pleaded guilty and was fined $880 on Wednesday.
