Matthew Gruter, who has been living in Australia with his family since 2022, was seen at an anti-Jewish protest.
A South African who was seen at a neo-Nazi rally in Australia has had his visa revoked.
Matthew Gruter, who has been living in Australia with his family since 2022, was seen at an anti-Jewish protest outside the New South Wales parliament earlier this month.
Protest
The protest was allegedly organised by the National Socialist Network.
Gruter was seen among around 60 men clad in black, who held up a banner that said “Abolish the Jewish lobby”, according to ABC News.
Visa
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke, confirmed on X the cancellation of Gruter’s visa.
“If you are on a visa, you are a guest. If you’re a citizen, you’re a full member of the Australian family.
“Like with any household, if a guest turns up to show hatred and wreck the household, they can be told it’s time to go home,” Burke said.
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Deportation
Burke said Gruter was detained. “Between 4 and 5am this morning, the Australian Border Force took him into immigration detention.
The minister said Mr Gruter would remain there “until either he gets his own ticket to leave Australia otherwise he’ll be deported”.
The Citizen has contacted the Home Affairs Department and Gruter for comment. This will be included in the story once received.
Neo-Nazi
The National Socialist Network, which organised the rally on 8 November, is a well-known neo-Nazi group in Australia.
“Gruter is a senior member of the group in New South Wales, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Gruter was active on social media accounts linked to the extreme-right group in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Legal options
In a post written after midnight, Gruter said he would “exhaust all legal options” to avoid returning to his home country, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
In a statement published by an NSN-affiliated website, Gruter said Australian Border Force had come to his home early on Tuesday morning and that he had been taken to Villawood detention centre. He said the visa had been cancelled on character grounds.
Australia has seen a recent rise in right-wing extremism, with the government making the Nazi salute punishable by a mandatory prison term earlier this year.
