Neo-Nazi leader Thomas Sewell broadcasting hateful views on Instagram

Neo-Nazi leader and convicted criminal Thomas Sewell is covertly broadcasting hateful views on Instagram weeks after his organisation the National Socialist Network (NSN) was formally listed as a hate group by the government.

ABC NEWS Verify can reveal that Sewell has posted antisemitic and homophobic diatribes to the platform from behind a sparkling Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo mask which the NSN has used previously in propaganda material.

Though his face is obscured, the position of a light switch, bookshelf and items on the bookshelf on Instagram match the background of another video Sewell appeared in unmasked on video streaming site Rumble in January.

Sewell established the new Instagram account in May, and to date has posted seven videos to the platform, the first on May 24.

He has launched a challenge in the High Court to overturn the government's ban on his organisation so that he can register a White Australia party with the Australian Electoral Commission.

In response to questions from ABC NEWS Verify about the Instagram videos and whether they constitute hate speech under the federal government's new laws, a spokesperson for the Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said "Our agencies are constantly monitoring for any potential breaches of our hate speech laws, the strongest such laws in Australian history".

The Australia Federal Police were also contacted for comment.

Alex Ryvchin, the co-chief executive officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry said social media platforms were enabling extremists to recruit and target people.

"Any Jewish user could attest to the volume of accounts pumping out everything from highly curated propaganda to direct death threats," he said.

"We've never seen it at such levels and its danger and effectiveness comes from the scale and consistency of the message.

ABC NEWS Verify also contacted Instagram parent company Meta to ask if Sewell's videos violated its policy on hateful conduct.

A spokesman for Meta said the company was investigating.

ABC NEWS Verify also sent questions to Sewell.

He did not respond directly, but posted a long video to Telegram abusing ABC NEWS Verify with what appeared to be the same mask in the background.

Multi-million dollar home

Photos matched to real estate listings show Sewell has been recording the videos in a multi-million-dollar property he is living in, in the Melbourne suburb of Hurstbridge.

The property is listed as the registered address on a document incorporating the White Australia Party as an association in Victoria.

An acreage with multiple dwellings present, the property is owned by a company with two directors.

One of the directors, 47-year-old Martin Featherstone, appears to be a public adherent of NSN ideology.

A social media account that appears to belong to Mr Featherstone has posted "Hail Thomas Sewell" and "Hail Australia" on multiple occasions.

In response to the government's ban of White Australia the account posted that they were a former member who had resigned from the party and that: "If the High Court works out, I'll just send another [email], rescinding my resignation."

In an interview with ABC NEWS Verify, Mr Featherstone confirmed that he was charging rent for Sewell to reside on the property, an amount he was "very happy with".

Asked whether he was a member of the NSN, how he knew Sewell, and whether there were any other families staying on the property, he replied "no comment".

The other director of the company is Mr Featherstone's mother, Christina Macgregor, who is also listed as the only shareholder.

Ms Macgregor was formerly the managing director of transport company Macgregor Logistics, which was sold to Land Transport in 2022.

She also ran as a candidate for the Liberal Party at Victorian elections in the 1990s.

Business records indicate neither Mr Featherstone nor Ms Macgregor reside on the same property as Sewell, which was purchased in July last year for $2.35 million.

However, they own other multi-million-dollar properties in the same area.

Ms Macgregor would not confirm to ABC NEWS Verify how she knew Sewell.

When asked whether she was comfortable renting to the Neo-Nazi leader she said she did not know he was a Neo-Nazi, despite being aware of him through the media.

"He's never told me that he's a Neo-Nazi. You cannot believe what you hear or read in the media," she said.

"I have my very own very strong political views, and they are my own. I have never been a Nazi.

"I do not want to see our own race eclipsed by bringing in millions and millions of people who don't share our culture."