White supremacists Thomas Sewell and Jacob Hersant walk free from the Country Court of Victoria after being convicted over an attack on six people in 2021.

In short: Neo-Nazis Thomas Sewell and Jacob Hersant have avoided further jail time after they were convicted of a 2021 attack on hikers at a Victorian state park. County Court Judge Kellie Blair wished the pair luck and said she believed the prospects of both men being rehabilitated were good. Sewell and Hersant maintained their innocence after the hearing and made anti-Semitic and homophobic comments to gathered media. What’s next? Hersant must complete 200 hours of community service as part of his sentencing.

  •  sqgl   ( @sqgl@beehaw.org ) 
    3•1 year ago

    They both have kids under a year old and both pleaded guilty early on, saving the victims having to take the stand.

    I think it was a fair decision outcome but should have been made to pay compensation [EDIT: and the judge’s comment that it wasn’t racial or political… WTF?]

    I had a similar interaction myself back in the late 90’s.

    I had loggers stomp on my parked car, with me in it, in Orbost (a logging town in Victoria) because they rightly guessed I was headed for the protestors camp. Had to drive hunched over because they caved the roof in a little.

    It began because it was pub closing time on a Friday night and one of their more worldly mates had exited the pub early to warn me but I had ordered a pizza after my long drive and naively decided to wait. Oops.

    Lucky that, as I drove off, the drunk attackers standing on the car didn’t fall and kill themselves.

    Reported to cops but I wasn’t interested in taking it to court (I lived far away) only in payment for repairs and that was arranged without fuss.

    •  mosiacmango   ( @mosiacmango@lemm.ee ) 
      16•1 year ago

      Giving nazis a slap on the wrist because they have kids after 25 of them rushed a car while armed and started attacking it because “someone had their phone pointed at them” isn’t reasonable mate. Having young kids or pregnant partners sure didnt hold them back from attacking those hikers unprovoked. They didn’t think for one minute about the hikers young kids or their pregnant partners.

      These fucks had knives, had smashed in the passenger window and were grabbing at the drivers keys. If not for quick work by the driver, those 6 people would be badly injured or dead.

      The fact they walked out of that courtroom with minimal time served, no fines, and a glowing recommendation about how rehabilitated they would soon be as they dropped racial and homophobic slurs is just some real sad sack shit man. It’s got almost zero percent to do with some drunk loggers pissed off at someone they see as costing them their jobs in an otherwise bleak economy.

      Ain’t nothing reasonable about this.