Melbourne on high alert over neo-Nazi gym meet-up this weekend

Authorities in Melbourne, Australia are closely monitoring a scheduled neo-Nazi gym meet-up, sparking concerns among law enforcement and the community. According to reports in the Australian media, Australian white supremacist groups, including the European Australian Movement and National Socialist Network led by Thomas Sewell, are organizing a "WHITE POWER Lifting Meet" at Legacy Boxing Gym in Sunshine North.

The Legacy Boxing Gym has come under scrutiny for alleged connections to neo-Nazi activists, making the event even more concerning for authorities. Thomas Sewell's involvement in violent incidents, notably a previous assault on a Nine Network security guard in 2021, has added to the unease surrounding the meet-up.

Widespread alarm, condemnation for promoting extremist ideologies

Organizers have promoted the event on social media, inviting members of the wider national community to "celebrate the movement's exponential growth," which has drawn widespread alarm and condemnation for promoting extremist ideologies.

The Anti-Defamation Commission, Australia's leading civil rights organization fighting antisemitism, has condemned the neo-Nazi power-lifting event, highlighting the danger of fostering hatred and violence. Dr. Dvir Abramovich, chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission, expressed grave concern over the event, stating that it serves as a disturbing reminder of the emboldened white supremacist movement's recruitment drive, aiming to lure young individuals into embracing a dangerous ideology.

"Who would have thought that in 2023 we would see a stomach-churning Hitler fest in Melbourne where Nazi salutes, incitement, fantasies about an Aryan Australia and gas chambers for Jews, Muslims, First Peoples, members of the LGBTIQ+ community, Asian and African Australians and the disabled will surely be on the agenda," Abramovich said. 

He added that "the risk of real-world violence cannot be dismissed. This evil must be confronted and defeated, and when the forces of fear and division rear their ugly head, we must stand together to declare in one voice that there is no place for such bigotry in our state.

"Imagine what would happen if one of the individuals present at this reprehensible gathering is radicalized by absorbing all the poisonous rhetoric they hear and then encounters a visibly identifiable Jewish person or a member of an ethnic group on the street?" Abramovich concluded.

Sewell, a prominent Australian neo-Nazi, has been associated with extremist groups and engaged in controversial public stunts. He has previously attempted to recruit the perpetrator of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings into one of the organizations he leads. Sewell's past actions include a conviction for affray and causing injury, stemming from a violent assault on a security guard in Melbourne.