Desmond Liddington, a neo-Nazi extremist who pleaded guilty to his part in the attack on the home of Black Lives Matter activist Padraic “Paddy” Gibson, has been sentenced to two and a half years in jail with a non-parole period of 18 months.
Liddington was sentenced in the Sutherland local court yesterday for his role in the attack. He was one of three men who attacked Gibson’s Arncliffe home on 4 December 2021. The men, dressed in clothing with nationalist insignia, ripped a security screen off a front window and smashed in the glass.
All three men have been charged over the attack on Gibson’s house. Liddington’s co-accused, Max Ferrer, pleaded guilty and recently received a non-custodial sentence. The third man has pleaded not guilty and will face trial on 21 March 2023.
In sentencing, the Magistrate specifically noted that the offence was “motivated by hatred or prejudice” indicating that the offences were more serious, and should be judged as “race/hate crimes”.
Liddington and his co-accused were described as being members of Firm 22 “who hold extreme right-wing views and adhere to white supremacist ideology”. The Magistrate found there was “a degree of planning behind the attack” and that they had “committed crimes based on their right-wing beliefs”. Liddington was identified as the leader of Firm 22.
Anti-fascist organisations believe that Firm 22 was also behind the attacks on homeless Indigenous people in Sydney in 2021.
Read the article on Solidarity.