Australian actor and one-time political candidate Damien Richardson has appeared in a Victorian court after being charged with performing a Nazi gesture at a meeting of a far-right group last year.
The 56-year-old who fronted Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday for the first day of a two-day contested hearing is best known for his long-running role on Neighbours and for running as a Freedom Party of Victoria candidate in 2022.
The case centres on video footage taken at a National Workers Alliance event in McKinnon last September, where Richardson appears to extend his right arm outwards with his palm facing down — a motion prosecutors say amounted to a Nazi salute. Richardson denies this allegation and has pleaded not guilty.
The gesture, which has been banned in Victoria since 2023, was allegedly made during a speech Richardson gave at the gathering, which was attended by members of the National Socialist Network (NSN).
The National Socialist Network has most recently made headlines for its hand in the so-called “March for Australia” and the organisation’s leader Thomas Sewell being arrested for the brawl at Camp Sovereignty in Melbourne’s CBD in October this year.
Richardson’s defence team has argued that the gesture was never intended as a show of support for Nazi ideology. His lawyer, Peter Monagle, told the court the act was “done in a form of parody or satire” and should be viewed as part of a paid theatre performance.
The court heard Richardson had been referring to an August 2023 article by The Age that he said compared him to Adolf Hitler. In the video shown during the hearing, Richardson raised his arm and said: “Am I allowed to do that or am I going to be fined now? This is absurd, this is insane, this is crazy… just the slur alone is enough to do the damage.”
Audience members in the same video could be heard making anti-Semitic comments, to which Richardson replied: “I told you boys to cut it out.”
Prosecutors have alleged that the gesture took place in a public space and was broadcast live on Facebook. Acting Detective Sergeant Gordon McSephney told the court the video was still publicly accessible when he began investigating last November.
Defence lawyer Mr Monagle argued Richardson believed he was performing at a private event, saying attendees had paid a $50 entry fee and were only told the location after buying tickets.
During proceedings, prosecutors asked Magistrate Justin Foster to consider expert evidence on “what constitutes a Nazi salute”. Magistrate Foster said he would allow the expert witness to give evidence, adding he could guard against any bias when assessing the report.
Speaking to the ABC last year, event organiser Matt Trihey said there had been “a lot of misinformation spoken about the event, Damien, the National Workers Alliance and myself”, adding that neither he nor Richardson had ever been involved with Nazi organisations and “have no connection with the NSN”.
If convicted, Richardson faces a penalty of up to 12 months in jail or a fine exceeding $23,000.
Lead image: Neighbours / Facebook
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