Australian nationalist Thomas Sewell will fight five charges laid over an alleged clash with far-left extremists in Melbourne, after prosecutors dropped 20 more.
Mr Sewell, 33, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court via video-link on Thursday where he pleaded not guilty to the remaining charges, which include violent disorder, affray and unlawful assault, in relation to the alleged brawl at illegal aboriginal squatter encampment “Camp Sovereignty” on August 31 last year.
Prosecutors withdrew another 20 charges during the hearing, and Mr Sewell will now stand trial in the County Court of Victoria after Magistrate Donna Bakos found a conviction was possible, the Australian Associated Press reported.
Mr Sewell will appear in that court in April along with co-accused Nathan Bull, who on also pleaded not guilty to violent disorder, affray, assault by kicking and failing to state his name or address on Thursday.
Three other former members of the now-disbanded National Socialist Network – Timothy Lutze, Augustus Hartigan and Ryan Williams – will fight similar charges in the magistrates court in May, and seven others are due to face the County Court for committal hearings or for trial in the coming months.
One of the accused, Ukrainian refugee Yan Zakharin, had his visa cancelled after being charged and has been in the Melbourne Detention Centre ever since, where he sits in limbo as he cannot be deported to the war-torn country.
But although he has not been convicted and the remainder of the accused being on bail, Mr Zakharin is being kept locked up by authorities despite hundreds of serious criminals being released from detention centres by Labor, and illegal immigrants being granted bail to live in the community on more serious charges.
Police charged 15 right-wing activists over the alleged fight with a group of far-left Antifa radicals who were using the aboriginal camp as a base to attack patriotic protesters returning from a March for Australia rally and vandalise their cars.
None of the far-left activists, some of whom were caught on camera throwing logs, have been charged.
Mr Sewell told reporters after facing the same court last month that he wanted the court to make clear that the attack was not unprovoked or targeted at indigenous elders as has been claimed, and referred to a video of an aboriginal “uncle” recounting how Antifa were using the camp as a “staging point”.
Header image: Left, Mr Sewell during the alleged incident. Right, the alleged incident (supplied).
