Self-described Nazi will be sent to prison for salute at sentencing next month

Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A self-described Nazi will become the first person in Australia sentenced to prison for performing an outlawed Nazi salute when a magistrate sets his term next month. Magistrate Brett Sonnet told Jacob Hersant on Wednesday he will be sentenced to a “relatively modest term of imprisonment” at his next court appearance. The maximum potential sentence is 12 months plus a fine. He gave the salute and praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in front of news media cameras outside a court in 2023, six days after the Victoria state government made the Nazi salute illegal. Hersant’s lawyer had suggested a fine, saying his behavior was not at the serious end of the crime.