Damien Richardson: Neighbours actor turned political activist in court over alleged banned Nazi gesture
Damien Richardson, 55, appeared in the Moorabbin Magistrates' Court on Tuesday for the first time after police laid the charge last December.
It's alleged Mr Richardson performed a Nazi gesture while speaking at an event hosted by the National Workers Alliance at a restaurant in McKinnon on September 14.
In footage of the alleged act, Mr Richardson can be heard saying; 'am I allowed to do that or am I going to be fined now?'
'This is absurd, this is insane, this is crazy.'
The National Workers Alliance bills itself as an organisation working for the 'preservation of western culture and identity'.
Mr Richardson's lawyer, Peter Monagle, told the court paperwork had been filed identifying issues in the prosecution case disputed by Mr Richardson.
Requesting his client's address be redacted from court documents released to the media, Mr Monagle told the court there had been posters placed near Mr Richardson's home.
'There has been a concerted effort, Your Honour, to get Mr Richardson to feel shame … by some in that area,' he said.
The matter was adjourned until June 20 by Magistrate Angela Bolger.
Responding on social media after his charges made headlines last December, Mr Richardson said the 'mockingbird media came after me because I defended White Australia'.
'I haven't been charged with doing a 'Nazi Salute' contrary to the MSM recent feeding frenzy. Even the police in their 'wisdom' stopped short of making such a plaintively false accusation,' he said.
'However, in its stead, I have been charged with something far more Orwellian, opaque and sinister. The contortion of language involved is extraordinary. I'll leave it to my legal team to try to explain it to me.'
The former soap star, known for his work on Neighbours, McLeods Daughters and Blue Heelers among other roles in Australian TV shows and movies, twice ran for political office after retiring from acting in 2021.
As a candidate for the Freedom Party, Mr Richardson unsuccessful campaigned at both the Victorian and Federal elections in 2022.
Since then he has embarked on a career as an alt-right speaker and podcaster, claiming he is being persecuted as a scapegoat by the government after opposing vaccine mandates and lockdowns.
In October 2023, laws passed by the Victorian parliament came into force criminalising the public display of Nazi symbols and gestures through the Nazi Salute Prohibition Bill.
The offence carries a maximum penalty of 12 months imprisonment and a $23,000 fine.
Several people have been charged with performing the banned gesture since the laws came into effect, including self-described neo-Nazi Jacob Hersant.
In November, Hersant became the first person convicted and was sentenced to one month jail but was freed on bail and plans to appeal the conviction.
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