Fourth man charged over Camp Sovereignty attack as neo-nazi leader Thomas Sewell held in custody

A fourth man has been charged in connection with an attack on Camp Sovereignty in Melbourne on Sunday.

Neo-nazi leader Thomas Sewell allegedly led a group of about 30 men dressed in black to storm the Indigenous camp in the King’s Domain after attending an anti-immigration rally in the city centre.

Members of the network held down occupants of the camp and began to kick them, Detective Senior Constable Saer Pascoe told the court on Wednesday during Mr Sewell’s hearing.

The incident injured three people, with the worst suffered by a woman who required staples in her scalp to close a wound, the court was told.

Victoria Police said a 29-year-old man from Rye was arrested on Wednesday evening on Sunnyside Road, Mount Eliza.

Detectives interviewed him, and he has since been charged with violent disorder, affray, unlawful assault, and discharging a missile.

He will face the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

Mr Sewell, 32, and two other men, aged 20 and 23, were arrested and charged on Tuesday.

Mr Sewell was charged with 25 offences including violent disorder and affray.

Prosecutor Jonathon McCarthy asked the magistrate to deny Mr Sewell’s release on bail, arguing he posed an “unacceptable risk to society” because his violence had been increasing.

He was on bail when he allegedly committed the offences and police sought to revoke that conditional release.

Detective Senior Constable Saer Pascoe told the court it was concerning Mr Sewell, as leader of neo-Nazi group the National Socialist Network, was allegedly encouraging others to commit violence.

“The applicant’s behaviour in recent times has been escalating in violence and concerning behaviour,” he said.

“He is their leader and has complete control. He has shown he has a large group of followers who will attack on instruction.”

Det Pascoe referred to Mr Sewell becoming “erratic” after shouting and interrupting a press conference of Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan on Tuesday.

Mr Sewell’s lawyer, interstate solicitor Mathew Hopkins, appeared by video link to ask the magistrate to bail his client.

He claimed prosecutors were only using the August 9 incident to “bolster” their argument to deny bail and were intertwining their evidence with a “political attack” on his client.

In the earlier incident, Mr Sewell was acting in self-defence as the other man had hit him first, Mr Hopkins said.

Mr Sewell never missed a court hearing, was committed to fighting all charges and he needed to be released to help his wife and children return from a holiday in Queensland, he said.

Magistrate Donna Bakos will hand down her bail decision on Friday afternoon.

- With AAP