A hiker thought he and his friends would be killed when they were surrounded by a group of alleged neo-Nazis in a Victorian state park.
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The man was one of three allegedly assaulted and robbed at knifepoint in the Cathedral Ranges, northeast of Melbourne, on May 8 this year.
Alleged neo-Nazi group leaders Thomas Sewell, 28, and Jacob Hersant, 22, are charged with a string of offences including unlawful assault and robbery and are facing a committal hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court.
Prosecutors say the hikers had crossed paths with a group of men wearing all black outfits with a white Celtic cross on the chest during their hike to Sugarloaf Peak.
One of the hikers speculated the group were "probably the Nazis" who had featured in news reports about groups camping in the Grampians over Australia Day.
The man, who cannot be identified because of concerns for his safety, said when they returned to the car park he was relaxed and eager to go home.
He said one of his friends got in the car and mentioned he had seen a man with a tattoo of a Nazi eagle.
The hiker said he pulled out his phone to look at photos from their hike and heard someone bang the back of their car.
"I looked up and there was a whole group of men running around us and (my friend) said 'lock the door'," he said, telling the court he wasn't sure how many men there were.
"I thought we were going to be killed ... it all happened in a flash."
Another hiker questioned their motivation for the incident, questioning in his police statement whether "a hate group against gays and Jews happened to attack a group of gays and Jews by chance".
He backed away from that position on Thursday, suggesting it was probably because he had filmed them.
Two car windows were smashed and three men had their phones taken before they were able to leave the scene.
Prosecutors say DNA matching Sewell and Hersant was found on the car, while two fingerprints matching Sewell were also discovered.
Prosecutor Danielle Guesdon earlier failed in a bid to have Sewell and Hersant's supporters removed from court over "coded hate speech" posted in a chat by a man going by the name Jimeone Roberts, who also held up a "Free Tom Sewell" sign.
Five witnesses gave evidence against Sewell and Hersant on Thursday, all choosing to keep their face masks on throughout. Ms Guesdon said they had concerns about their safety.
Magistrate Peter Reardon knocked back the request but put rule breakers on notice.
Suspected supporters including Neil Erikson, Mr Roberts and a man going by "based51" turned on their cameras in response.
After the magistrate's warning two images were flashed on screen - a gorilla doing a Nazi salute and a topless woman.
The hearing is continuing. Sewell is in custody while Hersant is on bail.
Australian Associated Press
