Australian authorities detained a South African man and revoked his visa after he joined a neo-Nazi group’s anti-Jewish lobby protest outside the New South Wales parliament house.
Matthew Gruter, who has been staying in Australia with his family since 2022, was photographed standing at the front of the protest rally on 8 November. Dressed in black, he was seen carrying a large banner declaring “Abolish the Jewish Lobby”.
The protest, organised by the National Socialist Network, a known neo-Nazi group, was legally authorised and monitored by the NSW police. The demonstration lasted under 20 minutes.
The organisers had given notice of their plan to hold a public assembly and it wasn’t opposed by the police.
Home minister Tony Burke cancelled Mr Gruter’s visa on Monday, declaring “it was time to go home”.
“Between 4 and 5am this morning, Australian Border Force took him into immigration detention," Mr Burke said in an update on Tuesday.
He said Mr Gruter would remain in detention “until he gets his own ticket to leave Australia, otherwise he'll be deported".
"Most people who are in immigration detention leave pretty quickly,” the minister added. “My expectation is he'll be gone very soon.”
Mr Gruter was one of around 60 men at the rally where demonstrators repeatedly chanted “blood and honour”, an infamous slogan associated with Hitler Youth, ABC News reported.
His Facebook page showed him wearing a bracelet with the same slogan engraved on it.
Mr Gruter was detained a day after Mr Burke warned that “if you’re on a visa, you’re a guest”.
“If you are a citizen you are a full member of the Australian family,” he added. “Like with any household, if a guest turns up to show hatred and wreck the household, they can be told it's time to go home.”
NSW premier Chris Minns said the rally was a “shocking display of hatred and racism and antisemitism”.
"You can't hold down a job somewhere else in civic life and expect to be free from scrutiny by joining one of these horrible organisations," he said.
Mr Gruter was staying on a sponsorship visa from an Australian business. He was residing in the country with his wife, according to ABC News.
Mr Burke has previously blocked visas for foreigners accused of “inciting discord” in Australia like American rapper Kanye West and conservative commentator Candace Owens.
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