Leaving Hate
Families call on governments to act as loved ones fall into extremism.
When Emily's teenage son became withdrawn, she never imagined he had secretly joined Australia's most prominent Neo-Nazi group. Now, she and other families are speaking out for the first time, revealing to ABC the painful reality of radicalisation and the struggle to get help.
Emily’s son was just a teenager when he was recruited by the National Socialist Network (NSN). “During COVID, he had a hard time. He felt like things were not going the right way,” with increasing dissatisfaction with the political order, she says. He first met NSN members at a rally against the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum in 2023. “They offered him boxing lessons… fitness, friendships, a sense of belonging. Then, before you know it, he’s at their monthly meetings, reading Mein Kampf like it’s the Bible.” For Curtis and Toby, extremism hit close to home when their sister met Queensland NSN leader Gabe Seymour at the gym. Their sister is now the mother of a child with Seymour, and Curtis and Toby are finding it increasingly difficult to get through. ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess comments on the slippery slope to extremism: “More Australians are embracing a more diverse range of extreme ideologies, and more Australians are willing to use violence to advance their cause.”
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