A Sydney man who was arrested for allegedly calling Jews “the greatest enemy to this nation” in an Australia Day speech has been refused bail by a magistrate due to his alleged political ideology.
Brandan Koschel 31, addressed a large crowd at Moore Park during an open mic segment after the March for Australia rally on Monday, and allegedly said the government’s new “hate speech” laws were pushed by Jewish lobby groups.
“They were behind it all. The Jews are the greatest enemy to this nation, they always have been, they are an enemy to Western civilisation and for thousands of years Christians and Anglos, the White man, has known that the Jew is out greatest enemy. Free Joel Davis, hail White Australia and hail Thomas Sewell,” he allegedly said.
A man was arrested over an alleged open mic speech he made at the March for Australia rally in Sydney today, as bystanders booed and yelled “traitors” at police.
He has been charged with “publicly threatening or inciting violence” towards a group. pic.twitter.com/t4RhupjG0S
— The Noticer (@NoticerNews) January 26, 2026
He arrested after leaving the rally about an hour later, charged with “publicly incite hatred on ground of race causing fear”, and refused bail to face court on Tuesday where he appeared in front of Magistrate Daniel Covington by videolink, The Guardian reported.
Police alleged in court Mr Koschel was either linked to or had been a member of now-disbanded nationalist activist group the National Socialist Network (NSN), as he was allegedly seen at the rally with “known members or associates” of the NSN and wore a shirt with a Celtic cross.
A police prosecutor argued that no bail conditions could ensure community safey, said alleged hatred towards the Jewish community after the Bondi Islamic terrorist attack had an “unacceptable risk of endangering the community”, and called the speech a “brazen and public incitement of hatred towards the Jewish community”.
Mr Koschel’s lawyer Jasmine Lau said her client had no affiliations with any active groups, no prior “hate crime” history, went to the event alone, the Celtic cross on his shirt was not an NSN symbol, and that he was unlikely to serve a prison sentence if convicted.
But Magistrate Covington, who also denied bail to former NSN activist Joel Davis the day after he was charged with allegedly intimidating federal MP Allegra Spender in a Telegram post, said the prosecution case was “strong” and remanded Mr Koschel in custody to face court again on February 3.
He cited “ideologies suggested in the facts sheet”, and said it was therefore difficult to put in place bail conditions that “both protect the community and protect the risk of him committing a serious offence”.
“It is a serious set of facts alleged to have occurred in a situation where the community is very acute to comments of this nature,” Mr Covington told the court, Newswire reported.
“It’s not only being made privately or on the internet, this is suggested to have occurred in public, it’s filmed and it’s streamed. And the comments, on the face of it, are concerning.
“It’s not an insignificant example of this kind of offence and it’s a serious offence.”
As Mr Koschel was arrested and placed into a police van in Surry Hills a crowd of bystanders booed, shouted “traitors” and “shame” at police, and accused them of acting like the East German Stasi.
Earlier in the march police pulled a different man out of the crowd and served him with a Public Safety Order requiring him to leave the city immediately, due to allegedly being an ex-member of the NSN.
About a dozen former members of the activist group, which disbanded in response to the announcement of Labor’s “hate speech” laws, were given PSOs last week banning them from going within 8km of the Sydney CBD. Breaches are punishable by up to five years in jail.
Header image: Left, the alleged speech. Right, Mr Koschel being arrested (supplied).
The post Sydney man, 31, to stay in jail over Australia Day speech due to his ‘ideologies’ first appeared on The Noticer.
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