An anti-Islam activist has defended calling senator Sam Dastyari a monkey and terrorist in a bar and says he has ‘no regrets’ about the ugly confrontation.
Neil Erikson, founder of far-right group Patriot Blue, filmed himself and two friends heckling the Iranian-born politician inside a Melbourne university bar.
‘You terrorist. You little monkey,’ one of the men said, boxing the senator in at the counter as he ordered a white wine and beer for a friend.
Mr Erikson said he was entitled to call Mr Dastyari a terrorist because he ‘is the size of a monkey’ and ‘labels anyone racist without evidence.’
An anti-Islam activist has defended calling senator Sam Dastyari a ‘monkey’ and ‘terrorist’
Neil Erikson, founder of far-right group Patriot Blue, filmed himself and two friends confronting the Iranian-born politician inside a Melbourne university bar
Mr Erikson said he was entitled to call Mr Dastyari a terrorist because he ‘is the size of a monkey’ and ‘labels anyone racist without evidence’
‘He labels anyone who he disagrees with as rednecks which itself is a racist term,’ Mr Erikson told Daily Mail Australia.
‘He’s the size of a monkey and if he so easily labels anyone racist without evidence I believe I can call him a terrorist. No regrets.’
He doubled down on his views online, taking to Facebook to write: ‘An Iranian-born Senator calls me a racist I’m gonna call him a terrorist – fairs fair.’
‘Monkey can mean 1000 different things, it’s a stretch to believe it was racist,’ he added.
Mr Erikson said he was trying to ‘draw attention to (Dastyari’s) dual citizenship’.
Senator Dastyari moved to Australia when he was four and stripped himself of all links to the country before running for parliament.
He does not hold dual citizenship.
‘No regrets’: Mr Erikson said he was entitled to call senator Dastyari a terrorist
Mr Erikson said he was trying to ‘draw attention to (Dastyari’s) dual citizenship’
‘You racist rednecks. You follow me wherever I go’: Mr Dastyari asked the men to leave him
Eriksen said there were no racist connotations attached to the insult ‘monkey’ – explaining it could have meant 1000 different things
Mr Erikson is no stranger to controversy.
In 2015, he took part in a mock beheading outside Bendigo Council to protest against a planned mosque in the western Victorian city.
Joined by United Patriot Front leader Blair Cottrell and fellow supporter Chris Shortis, the trio shouted ‘Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar!’, the Arabic term for ‘God is great’, before fake blood oozed from their prop.
The men were charged in October 2015 with breaching Victoria’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act, which makes it an offence to incite ‘hatred, serious contempt, revulsion or severe ridicule’ against a group of people.
They were the first high-profile case since a former Labor government introduced the law in January 2002.
In 2014 Mr Eriksen avoided jail time after pleading guilty to stalking a Melbourne Rabbi after making a number of racially-motivated phone calls.
The court heard he told the Jewish leader ‘Give me the money Jew or else I will get you’, as well as threatening to come get him and making fun of circumcision.
Footage of senator Dastyari’s confrontation with the Patriot Blue group racked up 33,000 views online in less than 12 hours.
In 2015, Ericksen took part in a mock beheading outside Bendigo Council to protest against a planned mosque in the western Victorian city.
‘This is Patriot Blue, mate. Why don’t you go back to Iran, you terrorist?’ one of the men asked