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<\/p>\nNeo-Nazis who loudly booed during an Anzac Day dawn service in Melbourne have been found guilty of offensive behaviour and ordered to pay fines.<\/p>\n
The group disrupted proceedings at the Shrine of Remembrance in 2025 when Indigenous elder Mark Brown took to the stage to conduct a Welcome to Country.<\/p>\n
Magistrate James FitzGerald today found Jacob Hersant, Nathan Bull, Michael Nelson guilty of behaving in an offensive manner in public.<\/p>\n
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Michael Nelson outside the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday. (AAP: Joel Carrett)<\/p>\n
A fourth man, Ian Lomax, was also found guilty.<\/p>\n
Hersant, a white supremacist once jailed for performing a public Nazi salute, was convicted and fined $1,900.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nelson received the same punishment.<\/p>\n
Bull and Lomax were fined $1,000 and $800 respectively, and avoided conviction.<\/p>\n
After the hearing, three of the four accused became involved in a heated argument with a protester outside the court and were separated by Protective Service Officers.<\/p>\n
Shrine leadership says verdict reflects seriousness of ‘disgraceful’ behaviour<\/p>\n
Prosecutors alleged that booing and racist slogans were yelled during parts of the service.<\/p>\n
The loud heckling was heard by thousands who had gathered at the shrine to honour fallen soldiers.<\/p>\n
Magistrate FitzGerald said he accepted there were differing views in the community about Welcome to Country ceremonies.<\/p>\n
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Four men were charged after allegedly booing and yelling racist slogans at an Anzac Day service in Melbourne last year. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)<\/p>\n
But he said it was beyond reasonable doubt that booing at an Anzac Day ceremony was offensive behaviour, given the event\u2019s “hushed” and “reverential” nature.<\/p>\n
“The dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance is not a time and place for noisy argument, heated debate, or the indignant expression of political views,” Magistrate FitzGerald said.<\/p>\n
“The behaviour engaged in in this case ruined this moment of national commemoration for those attending.<\/p>\n
“It was transgressive behaviour that would be likely to arouse significant anger, significant resentment, outrage, disgust, or hatred in the mind of a reasonable person.”<\/p>\n
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\u00a0Nathan Bull represented himself at a court hearing last month. (ABC News: Guido Salazar)<\/p>\n
The magistrate found the booing breached Victoria’s Summary Offences Act.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He dismissed two alternative charges brought by prosecutors under the Shrine of Remembrance Act.<\/p>\n
Responding to the verdict, Shrine of Remembrance acting chair Colonel Catherine Carrigan said it reflected “the seriousness with which the community and the justice system regard any conduct that compromises the sanctity of the dawn service”.<\/p>\n
“We condemn the disgraceful and disrespectful behaviour of the small number of individuals who disrupted the service,” she said.<\/p>\n
The magistrate said each accused’s level of offending was different.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lomax only participated in booing at the start of the event before he was kicked out with Nelson.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nelson, however, “goaded” the crowd by stating he had done more for Australia than the Anzacs.<\/p>\n
The magistrate described Hersant’s criminal history as “deeply troubling” but decided not to jail him, despite prosecutors saying it was an option available to the court.<\/p>\n
Witness ‘upset and disgusted’<\/p>\n
When the booing occurred at the shrine, some in the crowd tried to counter the insults by cheering and clapping.<\/p>\n
Hersant was later escorted from the area by police, while Nelson was also dragged away by an ex-serviceman.<\/p>\n
During a hearing<\/a> last month, a woman standing near Nelson and Lomax testified she was “upset and disgusted”.<\/p>\n “So many people were asking to show respect at this really important ceremony for so many Australians,” she said.<\/p>\n Hersant, Bull and Nelson are well-known white supremacists, while Lomax, a Ballarat dentist, was suspended from practising due to allegations connecting him to neo-Nazi rallies.<\/p>\n Ballarat dentist Ian Lomax outside court on Thursday. (AAP: Joel Carrett)<\/p>\n During the hearing, Hersant, Bull and Nelson admitted causing the disruptions but argued it was an act of political speech against Welcome to Country ceremonies.<\/p>\n “We weren’t booing Anzac Day,” Hersant said.<\/p>\n Defence lawyer Sam Norton, acting for Mr Lomax, argued evidence before the court did not show his client booing.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5715e2882066f27fd5ccee2b646e4b9d.jpeg\")
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