Police charged an artist who depicted prominent Australians in military uniforms emblazoned with Nazi symbols despite internal legal advice the images were “political satire”, a court has heard. Police dropped the case against Michael Agzarian before the Downing Centre local court on Friday, almost a year after he had been charged with one count of displaying Nazi symbols by a public act without lawful excuse.
Agzarian had displayed a poster on his shopfront window in Wagga Wagga ahead of last year’s federal election. The poster featured his local MP, Michael McCormack, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, and mining magnates Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer in the second world war German army uniforms, the court heard.
The court had heard the artwork was adapted from an image from the US sitcom Hogan’s Heroes. McCormack, the Nationals MP for Riverina, made the complaint to police about the image.
He told Guardian Australia after the charge against Agzarian was withdrawn that he made the report after several others in the community had also complained. Judge Karen Stafford, who oversaw a cost application and awarded Agzarian more than $12,000 in costs, outlined in court the legal advice given to police by their internal legal counsel.
That advice said: “The crimes act does not define what a Nazi symbol is unlike the criminal code. But in our view none of the imagery would come within either the NSW or commonwealth legislation to be considered an offence.