‘Brazen and public incitement’: White nationalist refused bail over alleged antisemitic speech
Luke Costin - January 27, 2026
A man will spend at least a week behind bars charged over an allegedly antisemitic tirade at an Australia Day rally in Sydney which he concluded with tributes to neo-Nazi leaders.
Brandan Koschel, 31, is accused of breaching newly passed racial hatred incitement laws in remarks to thousands of attendees of the anti-immigration March for Australia rally on Monday.
The 45-second speech – during which Koschel twice stated Jewish people were the “greatest enemy” – drew cheers from sections of the Moore Park crowd and was live-streamed on YouTube and elsewhere.
He was arrested soon after and faced a virtual bail court on Tuesday, seeking release.
Police described their case as strong, pointing to Koschel citing the new laws and then allegedly knowingly breaching them seconds later.
“The brazen and public incitement towards the Jewish community makes him an unacceptable risk to endanger the community,” the police prosecutor said.
Police alleged he was seen moments earlier standing with people known to be part of or affiliated with the National Socialist Network (NSN), the nation’s largest neo-Nazi group.
Open-source information suggested Koschel had also been a member of the group, the court was told.
“Free Joel Davis, heil white Australia, heil Thomas Sewell,” Koschel said before leaving the stage, referencing NSN leader Sewell and a Sydney lieutenant charged over a public call for people to “rhetorically rape” federal MP Allegra Spender.
But the white supremacist group had disbanded in recent weeks and Koschel was not affiliated with any “active” group, the 31-year-old’s lawyer, Jasmine Lau, said.
She also played down the large white Celtic cross on her client’s shirt at the time of the speech, arguing it was not a symbol of the NSN.
“He tells me it’s just a Celtic cross symbol that was shown on the jumper,” Lau told the court.
The symbol has been used by various white supremacist groups since the 1930s, the US Anti-Defamation League hate symbols database states.
Lau said it was unlikely that Koschel would, if convicted, cross the threshold for receiving jail time.
He had family ties to Sydney, no firearm licence and a limited criminal history including no matters related to hate crimes.
But magistrate Daniel Covington was unconvinced Koschel posed little threat of causing further trouble, despite the limited criminal record.
Proposed bail conditions did not include specific non-association measures and there was no disavowal of the views of the suggested ideology, he said.
“It is difficult for me to determine what conditions could be put in place to both protect the community and the risk of committing further serious offences,” he said.
“There is a real risk of imprisonment.”
He refused bail and remanded Koschel in custody until February 3, when the case comes before Downing Centre Local Court.
Koschel remained silent for much of the bail hearing.
He appeared to make a gesture with his handcuffed right hand before his link from police cells was switched off.
The NSN announced it would disband this month in anticipation of new federal laws targeting hate groups.
Davis, a key Sydney ally of NSN leader Thomas Sewell, told a bail hearing on January 15 he was no longer a member and “that chapter is now closed”.
He has been held on remand since November over the call for his supporters to “rhetorically rape” Spender, whose east Sydney electorate includes a large Jewish population.
Davis has argued rhetorically rape was a philosophical term of art, not a term to incite some to literally sexually assault the Wentworth MP.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/nsw/brazen-and-public-incitement-white-nationalist-refused-bail-over-alleged-antisemitic-speech-20260127-p5nxd8.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J0BcAuAmO8