A Sydney neo-Nazi tradie who says he loves Adolf Hitler and is 'proud to be racist' has been charged with allegedly menacing minority groups on social media, as a judge gave his lawyer a tongue-lashing for trying to have the case thrown out.
Before the matter had properly begun in its first court appearance, Jack Eltis's lawyer was urging both a registrar and then Judge Hugh Donnelly to dismiss the charge of using a carriage service to menace, harass, or offend.
Eltis, 28, is an air-conditioning technician who refuses to serve non-white customers, openly admires Hitler, and refers to Germany as the 'Motherland' on his social media accounts.
'I ask that this application is dismissed,' defence solicitor Anujan Nagendiram said in two separate courts on Thursday morning.
'The person who lodged it is not even a lawyer.'
The charge is a private prosecution brought by Anton Tutoveanu, a computer scientist and cryptographer, who said he was trying to 'do something for the community' about allegedly 'nasty' comments about Indian, Jewish, and other ethnic groups posted online by Eltis.
Mr Tutoveanu, who briefly appeared as prosecutor in Downing Centre Local Court, is not a lawyer but has previously launched legal action, including filing a writ in the High Court of Australia against the Commonwealth over its response to the Middle East conflict.
When Mr Nagendiram asked Judge Donnelly to abandon the charge, arguing there were 'pages missing' from the court papers, his Honour replied that the matter involved a Commonwealth offence.
'The Registrar had issued it to be determined in a hearing. So there was a case and dismissing it is a substantive decision.'
Jack Eltis (second right) has failed to have a charge of using his Twitter account to allegedly menace, harass or offend dismissed, and the 'proud racist' who 'loves Hitler' will face court later this year
Eltis is a 28-year-old air conditioning technician who refuses to serve non-white customers, openly admires Adolf Hitler, and refers to Germany as the 'Motherland' on his social media platforms
Anton Tutoveanu, a computer scientist and cryptographer, has brought the private prosecution against Eltis, saying he was trying to 'do something for the community' about allegedly 'nasty' comments about Indian, Jewish and other ethnic groups posted online
The court can now move forward and set a hearing date.
Eltis works in his family air-conditioning and electrical business in the Riverstone-Kellyville area in far northwestern Sydney.
He is considered a rising figure in the neo-Nazi movement in Australia among high-profile white nationalists and acted as a fill-in when leader Thomas Sewell was jailed last year.
Eltis organised the neo-Nazi rally held outside the New South Wales Parliament last November in which 67 men dressed in black chanted antisemitic slogans and held a banner that read 'Abolish the Jewish Lobby'.
The rally concluded with the chanting of a Hitler Youth slogan.
in a rolling interview after the protest, Eltis said 'all the men in our organisation are proud to be racist.
'We proud of who we are, we're proud of who we are as white men.
'Our ancestors built this land for us and we're proud of that - we put our race first.'
Jack Eltis organised the protest last November when 67 neo-Nazis dressed in black stood outside the NSW Parliament house with banners and chanted a Hitler youth slogan
Last year, Eltis' parents publicly distanced themselves from their son's views after they were targeted on social media. Picture, Eltis when younger with his dad, Matt
In January the National Socialist Network, in which Eltis had acted as NSN's third-in-command, announced it would disband in response to proposed new hate speech laws by the federal government.
On his Telegram account, Eltis posted last week that the movement's lawyers were working on a High Court challenge and that 'we aren't ever going to give up in our mission for a White Australia'.
Last year, Eltis' parents publicly distanced themselves from their son's views after they were targeted on social media.
'As some of you know, our son Jack Eltis has involved himself in a Neo Nazi organisation,' his father Matt wrote.
'None of our family condone or support this organisation. Jack is a grown adult and has made his decisions.