Neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell has been arrested outside Melbourne Magistrates' Court after his group allegedly attacked Camp Sovereignty on Sunday.
Mr Sewell, who is the leader of the National Socialist Network, along with two supporters, was arrested outside the court after about 25 police officers had gathered on Tuesday afternoon.
On Sunday, around 40 men dressed in black — some armed with flagpoles and sticks — stormed the Indigenous camp following an anti-immigration rally. Footage showed the men verbally abusing camp members and stomping on the Aboriginal flag. Some chanted, "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi oi, oi," before fleeing as police arrived.
Victorian Police confirmed the arrest was in relation to the events that took place at Camp Sovereignty.
"Detectives from Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit attended Melbourne Magistrates' Court about 3.20 pm this afternoon," a Victorian Police spokesperson said.
"Officers arrested a 32-year-old man from Balwyn, a 23-year-old man from Mooroolbark and a 20-year-old man from Ardeer. They are being interviewed in relation to an ongoing investigation into alleged assaults in King's Domain about 5 pm on 31 August."
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Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Sewell, a migrant from New Zealand, disrupted a press conference by Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, Treasurer Jaclyn Symes and Yorta Yorta woman and Parliamentary Secretary for Emergency Services, Sheena Watt, yelling "Heil, Australia" before being confronted by police.
In a statement, Premier Allan said she was "unharmed and undeterred" but stressed: "This isn't about me."
"It's about all the other people in the community who Nazis target - like multicultural people, LGBTIQA+ people, First Peoples, and Jews," she said.
About 10 of Mr Sewell's supporters, along with 25 police and protective services officers, had gathered outside the court on Tuesday before the arrests, where Mr Sewell was appearing on another matter.
The Age reported that one of the men arrested wore a jacket emblazoned with the words "F**K off we're full".
Speaking to National Indigenous Times on Tuesday morning, Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe argued the targeting of Camp Sovereignty, which holds deep significance for Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri people, should be labelled a "hate crime".
"A bunch of Neo Nazis storming a sacred site; desecrating a sacred site, certainly fits in the category of a hate crime," she said.
At Tuesday's Labor party room meeting, Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, expressed her horror at the events on Sunday, labelling it "absolutely reprehensible", noting she had never seen an attack where the assailants were acting as brazenly and openly in her parliamentary career.
