A retired father-of-six who relocated from Argentina to 30 years ago has been granted bail after allegedly performing a Nazi salute inside a busy pub.
Norberto Trimestra, 68, was arrested on Friday at the Criterion Hotel on Pitt Street in the Sydney CBD after security guards flagged down police about 7.10pm when he refused to leave.
Trimestra, from Carlingford in Sydney’s northwest, worked as an electronic engineer before retiring in 2023 and now describes himself on social media as an online journalist, the Daily Telegraph reports.
A Facebook account belonging to Treimestra is filled with posts talking about politics and history, particularly in relation to his native Argentina.
On another social media account he describes himself as ‘a journalist inventing new forms of democratic governments’.
Treimestra has been charged with knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol without excuse in public, making a gesture in a public place that is a Nazi salute and failing to leave a premises when required.
He appeared in Parramatta Court on Saturday where he did not enter a plea and applied for bail – which was granted on the conditions he does not drink alcohol, reports to police twice a week and does not go within 1km of the CBD.
The court was told Mr Trimestra argued with officers before his arrest and police had concerns his behaviour could escalate, but his lawyer told the court his client had no history of violent incidents or non-compliance with court conditions.
The court heard Mr Trimestra had minor offences on his criminal history including traffic offences and previous infringements for not leaving licensed premises when asked.
His lawyer argued there was no evidence of those offences other than being mentioned in police documents.
Mr Trimestra, who has three adult children in Sydney and three others in Argentina, is due to return to court on January 8.
In November, two of the first people convicted under laws that outlawed shows of Nazi symbolism had their guilty verdicts overturned after a judge found their public salutes could not be definitively linked to the fascist German regime.
Three men were accused of performing the salute at Parramatta’s CommBank Stadium in October, 2022 during the Cup final match between Sydney United 58 and Macarthur FC.
Two convictions were overturned but a judge upheld the guilty finding against the third man, who performed the salute seven times.
Another man is set to face Newtown Local Court after he was charged with performing the salute after stepping in front of a protest march and allegedly making threatening comments.