A Melbourne magistrate has sentenced neo-Nazi leader Thomas Sewell to a community corrections order after he used racial slurs during a protest outside the Chinese consulate in 2024. Sewell, 33, was found guilty of behaving in an offensive manner in public, with the magistrate comparing his actions to 'Nazi thugs of 1930s Berlin'.
During the incident, Sewell used a megaphone to direct a group dressed in black with covered faces, displaying a large sign with a racist slur against Asian people. The court heard that the group made threats to hang someone, and the imagery was likened to the Ku Klux Klan.
Representing himself, Sewell claimed the protest was free speech and legitimate political commentary. However, Magistrate Patrick Southey rejected this, describing the offending as 'repugnant' and stating that any reasonable person would have been appalled. He noted that Sewell could have made his points without resorting to racial slurs.
Southey imposed an 18-month community corrections order, including 200 hours of unpaid community work. The prosecutor had not sought a jail sentence but requested a punitive order. Sewell, who has prior neo-Nazi-related convictions, responded to the magistrate's comments by claiming Australia was founded on racism.
