Zayne Jason William McMillan, 22, was seen posing and moving his hands as though he was holding a long-barrelled firearm while on a footbridge at Bondi Beach on January 31. Two gunmen stood on the same bridge two months earlier and opened fire on a crowd celebrating Hanukkah, leaving 15 people dead and dozens injured in Australia's deadliest anti-Semitic attack.
While he was imitating their actions, court documents reveal McMillan shouted "f*** the Jews" before intimidating a man walking with his young daughters. The girls burst into tears. According to the 9News report, minutes later McMillan biked up behind a Jewish man wearing religious headwear and his young son, continuing his anti-Semitic rant as they walked towards a synagogue in Bondi.
McMillan on Tuesday said he accepted he had been acting stupidly and wanted to apologise for his behaviour. His lawyer, Glen Cremer, argued before Waverley Local Court that McMillan had been drunk and influenced by others at the time. Cremer suggested the offensive conduct was spontaneous drunken behaviour rather than planned anti-Semitic activity.
The court heard a different view from the prosecution. The police prosecutor contended a jail term was inevitable, given McMillan's criminal history and the "pretty horrendous" facts before the court. McMillan had been on parole for multiple domestic violence offences when he mimed holding the gun and made racist remarks, he noted.
The magistrate agreed that a term of imprisonment appeared likely and declined to hear the bail application. He is due to be sentenced in April after pleading guilty to three counts of offensive behaviour in a public place and two counts of intimidation over an hour-long drunken tirade.
The case reflects deepening concerns about the safety of Australia's Jewish community. Prior to this incident, the Australian Jewish community experienced an increase in antisemitic attacks on Jewish individuals and institutions since the beginning of the Gaza war in October 2023. The January incident at Bondi came just weeks after the December 14 terror attack that shocked the nation.
McMillan will deliver an apology to the community when he is sentenced next month, the court was told.