Articles by Duncan Evans,Liam Beatty

Politics

Neo Nazi’s brazen act before court

Sewell, who was found guilty last month of intimidating a police officer, fronted the Melbourne Supreme Court on Wednesday on multiple charges related to the storming of the Indigenous site after an anti-immigration rally. The alleged offences include violent disorder, affray and unlawful assault. Sewell has been remanded in custody since the attack, and is applying for bail. Beforehand, he could be seen entering the court in a white shirt in cuffs, and raised his right hand. At an earlier hearing, Sewell told the court he grew up in Melbourne where his family was based but did not have good relations with his brother. He said he spent two-and-a-half years in the Australian army after leaving high school and completed part of an engineering degree before changing to “focus on politics”. In 2015, he said he was unjustly fired from his job as a youth councillor for high-risk children due to his beliefs and had since had half a dozen jobs in the construction industry. Sewell argued any prison time would “negatively affect” his young family. He told the court he takes a small living allowance from the National Socialist Network, which he described as a political movement with community events and a home-schooling network.