A self-described Australian Nazi has become the first person in the country to be sentenced to prison for performing a Nazi salute, after a court rejected his final appeal and upheld a one-month jail term.

Jacob Hersant, 26, lost his appeal this week in the Victoria County Court, clearing the way for his incarceration over a gesture that lawmakers have criminalized amid growing concerns about extremist activity.

Hersant was originally sentenced in October 2024 after prosecutors said he gave a Nazi salute and praised Adolf Hitler outside the courthouse on October 27, 2023, moments after avoiding prison on a separate conviction for causing violent disorder. The incident occurred in front of television cameras and reporters.

The salute came just six days after Victoria enacted legislation banning the gesture. Two months later, the Parliament of Australia passed nationwide laws outlawing the public performance of Nazi salutes and the display or trade of Nazi symbols.

In his appeal, Hersant argued that he had not performed the salute. He also contended that even if he had, the charge was “constitutionally invalid.”

Judges rejected those arguments, finding that the gesture had been clearly visible and deliberately carried out days after the ban took effect. In its ruling, the court said Hersant’s conduct demonstrated open defiance of judicial authority.

The decision marks a legal milestone in Australia’s effort to confront extremist symbolism, particularly as far-right movements have sought to test the boundaries of newly enacted hate-speech and public-order laws.

State and federal officials have said the bans are necessary tools to curb the normalization of Nazi ideology and antisemitic rhetoric, which security agencies have warned can serve as gateways to political violence.

Civil liberties advocates, meanwhile, have cautioned that such laws must be narrowly applied to avoid infringing on free expression. Courts have so far sided with lawmakers, emphasizing the historical and social harms associated with Nazi symbolism.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)