Man jailed after mimicking Bondi beach terror attack on footbridge and making slurs against Jewish people

A man seen mimicking the Bondi beach terror attack before making slurs against Jewish people has been jailed.

Zayne Jason William McMillan, 23, was heavily intoxicated when he and a friend went to Bondi beach, six weeks after the shooting, in which 15 people were killed.

“[The shooting] was horrific, it was gut-wrenching, it was just a developing ongoing drama and trauma,” Judge Michael Barko said as he sentenced the man on Tuesday.

McMillan was seen on 31 January on the same Bondi footbridge involved in the attack, posing as though he held a long-arm firearm while his friend took photographs, according to the agreed facts.

Judge Barko gave him a 12-month jail sentence, with a non-parole period of nine months.

Earlier, defence barrister Stephen Alexander said his client was not an ideological antisemite.

“What he did say was antisemitic but he didn’t go out of his way to be an antisemite,” Alexander said.

“He does not consider himself as being a racist towards the Jewish community.”

Judge Barko rejected this, noting McMillan had singled out Jews during his 35-minute tirade.

“Not one other faith, belief or culture was referred to,” the judge said.

The 23-year-old Dubbo man watched the sentencing by audio-visual link from Shortland prison near Cessnock, stroking his goatee while Judge Barko spoke.

The bricklayer received a discounted sentence after earlier pleading guilty to three counts of offensive behaviour in a public place and two counts of intimidation.

He will be eligible for release on 3 November.

On the footbridge, the First Nations bricklayer yelled, “fuck the Jews”.

“I’m a Koori I can do what I like,” he said.

McMillan then verbally threatened a 47-year-old man walking by with his family after they made eye-contact.

“Do you wanna fucking go? I’ll fuckin bash ya. This is my fuckin land,” he said.

The 23-year-old rode a bicycle to Waverley Oval where he intimidated a second visibly Jewish victim walking with his son to a synagogue by yelling antisemitic remarks.

He rode onto Bondi Junction where he continued yelling racist slurs after falling off his bike.

He was arrested by New South Wales police on 4 February.

Alexander told the court on Tuesday the incident was sparked by someone responding to his client yelling, “Free Palestine” on the footbridge.

“You’re stealing land and killing woman and children ... just like the white man,” he allegedly said.