Prominent neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell has praised war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith during a secret meeting at a suburban RSL where members of his group gathered to plan the future of their far-right organisation.
The seminar-style meeting, held at the Altona RSL on July 30, has attracted the attention of counter-terror police who have sought CCTV of the gathering. Police would not comment specifically on the event.
The event included slide shows and speeches by National Socialist Network (NSN) members who discussed how to undertake “psyops” online to attract new members and what skills would be useful on a remote regional compound they intend to establish.
The day before, members of the NSN had gathered at Legacy Boxing Gym in Sunshine West, owned by neo-Nazi Timothy Lutze, for a “white powerlifting competition”.
Sewell, in shirt and tie, is shown in a video seen by this masthead celebrating Roberts-Smith while chiding The Age and Sydney Morning Herald investigative journalist Nick McKenzie, who has written about both Roberts-Smith and Sewell.
“Heil Ben. Heil Ben Roberts-Smith, this is a shout-out to Ben Roberts-Smith,” Sewell said to a room full of cheers, “down with Nick McKenzie”.
There is no suggestion Roberts-Smith is in any way associated with the NSN.
The Altona RSL said the group “booked under a fake name and staff at the venue were unaware it was a neo-Nazi group”.
Read the article by David Estcourt in The Age.