Not even Nazi salutes should be illegal

Stuff reports:

A self-described Nazi on Tuesday became the first person convicted in the Australian state of Victoria of performing an outlawed Nazi salute.

Jacob Hersant, 25, gave the salute and praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in front of news media cameras outside the Victoria County Court on October 27, 2023, after he had appeared on a unrelated charge. It was six days after the Victoria state government had made the salute illegal.

The Federal Parliament passed legislation in December that outlawed nationwide performing the Nazi salute in public or to publicly display, or trade in, Nazi hate symbols.

Anyone who does a Nazi salute should face severe reputational damage. However they should not face criminal sanctions for it.

The only exception to this is arguably countries where the Nazis came to power such as Germany and Austria.