Extremism experts have raised concerns about the presence of a child at a neo-Nazi event in Melbourne’s north-west, saying it indicates far-right groups are indoctrinating children with hateful ideology during vulnerable periods in their intellectual development.
An investigation by The Age has uncovered links between Legacy Boxing Gym, in Sunshine West, some of Victoria’s most dangerous neo-Nazi activists and a growing community of young men learning to box at the gym.
Images posted in encrypted far-right chat groups captured a secret December 3 event held at the gym, which was adorned with swastika and SS flags and other far-right symbolism. A photo from the event shows prominent neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell posing with a child and dozens of other far-right supporters.
The photo also features far-right activist and Nazi sympathiser Jimeone Roberts, who was convicted of plastering Caulfield with more than 50 swastikas. The display of swastikas became illegal in Victoria in June.
According to business records, the directors of Legacy Boxing Gym include Werribee man Timothy Holger Lutze, 32.
Investigations by The Age have uncovered several pictures in which Lutze and young members of the gym are making Nazi salutes. On Friday morning, the gym, which was founded in 2019, removed some of the images from Facebook.
Read the article by David Estcourt in The Age.