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Ex-Neighbours actor Damien Richardson has been convicted of performing an "illegal Nazi salute" following a trial in Australia's Victoria state. Richardson, 56, a former actor turned political activist, starred in the soap as Gary Canning from 2014 to 2020. He made the gesture last year during a meeting of the National Workers Alliance, a group that stands for "the preservation of Western culture and identity", ABC reports. Standing in a restaurant in Melbourne before onlookers, Mr Richardson made a salute with his right hand and said: "Am I gonna be fined now? I'm going to go jail for five years?" Under state legislation passed in 2023, it is illegal in Victoria to make a Nazi salute in public or show Nazi symbols. Although Richardson maintained his innocence, he was found guilty of the offence by Magistrate Justin Foster on Friday. The magistrate explained that the hand movement Richardson carried out "clearly looked like a Nazi salute". He added the gesture was made in public and not part of a theatrical performance, which may have exempted it under the law. "It's clearly a speech that doesn't cross over into anything artistic or theatrical," Magistrate Foster added. Although Richardson was found to have carried out the Nazi salute, the judge pointed out his actions did not mean he was expressing loyalty or admiration of Adolf Hitler. Magistrate Foster added: "Just prior to him giving the salute, the accused was complaining of his treatment by The Age newspaper. "He was saying that The Age treated him badly and was essentially labelling him as a Nazi or like Hitler, to shut down what some might describe as extreme right-wing views. "The salute that came immediately afterwards was in a mocking gesture, perhaps aimed at The Age, perhaps aimed at himself, I don't know. "It was trying to demonstrate, together with the words that follow, that he clearly wasn't Adolf Hitler and that he's not a Nazi." Mr Richardson had told audience members how his own grandfather had fought against Nazis in the Second World War and had shut down "elements of antisemitism" in the room. He will be sentenced on December 4 and faces a fine up to $23,000 fine or a 12-month jail term.
