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Anzac Day booer unapologetic for disturbing ceremony
Eli Toby pleaded guilty and showed no remorse, with the judge saying his booing broke a solemn moment for thousands of attendees.
- On Thursday, June 4, 2026, the Melbourne Magistrates' Court found four men guilty of offensive behavior for booing during a 2025 Anzac Day Welcome to Country ceremony at the Shrine of Remembrance.
- The group—including Jacob Hersant, Michael Nelson, and Nathan Bull—disrupted the service by shouting political slogans, which Magistrate James FitzGerald characterized as 'transgressive' behavior imposed on a sacred moment.
- Hersant and Nelson received $1900 fines, while Bull was fined $1000 and Ian Lomax $800; separately, Eli Joseph Toby was convicted and fined $880 on Wednesday in Sydney for his own disruption.
- Judge Greg Grogin and Magistrate FitzGerald emphasized that dawn services possess a 'hushed and reverential nature,' ruling that imposing political views on such a sacred occasion constitutes offensive, not protected, speech.
- RSL Australia National President Peter Tinley condemned the 'loutish behaviour' as 'grossly disrespectful,' though Hersant maintained the group was 'not sorry for what we did,' reflecting deep divisions over commemorative traditions.
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Court Rebukes Man Who Booed Indigenous Welcome to Country at Anzac Day
A man who booed an Indigenous “Welcome to Country” ceremony during an Anzac Day dawn service has refused to apologise while being sentenced in court. Eli Joseph Toby pleaded guilty in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday to one count of committing a nuisance at a war memorial for booing loudly while Aboriginal elder Uncle Ray Minniecon delivered the Welcome. When asked by Judge Greg Grogin whether he was sorry for what he had done, T…
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources10
Leaning Left4Leaning Right3Center1Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Left
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Left
50% Left
L 50%
13%
R 37%
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