Man jailed for performing Nazi salute during court hearing

In short:

Tasmania Police arrested a man in August, whom they said gave a Nazi salute while being taken into custody for disorderly conduct.

The man later repeated the salute several times via video link during a Hobart court hearing, along with abusing a magistrate.

The magistrate said the custodial sentence needed to act as a deterrent against such acts.

A 43-year-old man who performed a Nazi gesture in a Hobart courtroom has been sentenced to two months' imprisonment.

It is understood Cameron John Matthews is the first person in the state to serve jail time for the offence.

The court heard that shortly before midnight on August 23, police attended Liverpool Street in the Hobart CBD following reports of a man behaving in a disorderly manner.

Magistrate Catherine Geason said police described Matthews as behaving erratically, referring to both himself and police as "skinheads" and performing a Nazi salute on multiple occasions.

He was arrested and taken to Hobart Reception Prison.

The next day, Matthews appeared before the Hobart Magistrates Court via video link, before a courtroom filled with multiple lawyers, a magistrate and two members of the public.

The court heard this afternoon that during that August appearance, Matthews used abusive language towards the magistrate and performed a Nazi salute three times.

In 2023, Tasmania became the first state to ban Nazi symbols and salutes.

Jail sentence as deterrent

In handing down Matthews's sentence, Magistrate Geason said entrenched "racist and misogynistic" beliefs drove his behaviour.

She said that, as well as being a personal deterrent, the sentence needed to reflect the need for general deterrence against the offence.

The maximum penalty for performing a Nazi gesture as a first-time offender in Tasmania is either a fine of up to $3,900 or a prison term of up to three months.

For a repeat offence within six months, the maximum penalties are doubled.

Matthews was also given a one-month suspended sentence for two counts of using a carriage service to make a threat to kill, while phoning Victims of Crime South Australia.

The magistrate told the court that while she accepted Matthews's frustration regarding the victims of crime compensation process, it did not explain the "intensity" of the messages, which she described as having "white supremacist tones".