A white supremacist has become the first person in Victoria to be found guilty of breaking a law which bans performing the nazi salute in public. The man has shown no remorse for the offensive gesture and says he'll do it again.
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00:00He's a convicted criminal and a neo-Nazi, and despite losing in court, Jacob Hersont
00:07has vowed to keep spreading hate.
00:09I'll still continue to give the salute, but hopefully police officers don't see it.
00:17Hersont is a prominent white supremacist.
00:19Last year he narrowly dodged jail over a violent attack, but outside the court he did this
00:25in front of reporters.
00:26Oh, I nearly did it, it's illegal now, isn't it?
00:30Days earlier the Victorian government banned public Nazi salutes after members of the far
00:35right gathered on the steps of parliament.
00:37The Nazi salute is a call for the murder of every Jew.
00:42It was one of the main symbols for Hitler's regime.
00:46Today Hersont became the first person to be found guilty of the offence, with a magistrate
00:50rejecting Hersont's claims that he didn't actually perform a full salute.
00:55We took very, very strong action as a government, as a parliament, as a society, to say that
01:00Nazi salute behaviour is utterly unacceptable.
01:03The court also dismissed an argument that performing the Nazi salute was an act covered
01:08by constitutional freedom of expression.
01:11And the very powerful message that has been sent to these neo-Nazis is this.
01:16In the battle between good and evil, in the fight for the heart and soul of our nation,
01:21you will not win.
01:22I would hope that these individuals get more than a slap on the wrist ultimately.
01:27We need these people to be properly sentenced.
01:30The maximum penalty for performing a Nazi salute in public is a $23,000 fine or 12 months
01:37in jail.
01:38But Jacob Hersont says he isn't worried about the prospects of being locked up.
01:42He'll return to court tomorrow for a pre-sentence hearing.