‘Nazi scum’ chants greet white supremacist on release
Emily Woods |
A chorus of “Nazi scum, off our streets” has been shouted by protesters as a white supremacist group leader walked from court after securing bail.
Thomas Sewell, 32, was granted bail by a judge on Thursday after he was found not to be an unacceptable risk to endangering community safety and had presented compelling reasons to be freed.
It was his second attempt at bail after a Melbourne magistrate denied his release about two months ago.
Sewell is charged with 25 offences for two incidents in August, including allegedly leading a group attack on August 31 on a sacred First Nations site where several people were assaulted.
He is accused of punching a member of Camp Sovereignty in the collar bone, kicking another occupant and discharging a missile at the camp.
Sewell is further accused of raising his fists and lunging at a man on August 9 as he and 200 others marched through Melbourne with “white man fight back” banners.
The man allegedly spat on Sewell, who is accused of retaliating and trading blows before overpowering the man who was tackled by other members of Sewell’s group and kicked in the head.
Prosecutors opposed Sewell’s release in Melbourne’s Supreme Court, citing his unacceptable risk of re-offending as the leader of a group with a “history of hate crimes and acts of violence”.
Sewell’s group, the National Socialist Network, had a tendency to “act violently to vulnerable groups, including ethnic minorities”, prosecutors said.
Prosecutor Erik Dober said Sewell’s offending was serious as he told a group of about 30 men dressed in black “let’s get ’em” and led them towards the camp at King’s Domain, a sacred site for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
He said Sewell had failed to show compelling reasons under the Bail Act to allow his release.
Sewell’s barrister, top silk Dermot Dann KC, listed a number of reasons his client should be freed on bail including that any risk to the community could be addressed with bail conditions.
Mr Dann said if Sewell remained locked up until he faced trial, which could take two years, he may end up serving more time on remand than he his sentenced to.
Justice James Elliott agreed with the defence as he approved Sewell’s release, finding the prosecution did not demonstrate he posed an unacceptable risk to endangering the safety of the community.
Sewell, who had spent 72 days in custody, was bailed on a $20,000 surety, which his partner will have to forfeit if he breaches any bail conditions.
He will have to abide by an 18-month Community Corrections order, which was handed to him by a magistrate in September after she found him guilty of intimidating a police officer and his wife.
Sewell will be restricted to a curfew from 9pm to 6am every day, must not contact any co-accused or witnesses for the prosecution, and cannot enter Melbourne’s CBD except for legal or medical reasons.
He is banned from going within 200 metres of King’s Domain and cannot leave Victoria.
Among his reasons for granting bail, the judge said Sewell had stable accommodation with his fiancee and two children, and faced “extremely onerous conditions” in protection while on remand.
As Sewell walked from court on Thursday afternoon, a small group of pro-immigration protesters chanted “Nazi scum off our streets”.
Sewell will return to Melbourne Magistrates Court for a committal mention on December 9.
AAP
