The father of a woman engaged to Australia’s most prominent neo‑Nazi leader said his family is "distraught" and faces an "incredibly difficult situation" after his daughter became involved with the extremist figure.
Rebecca "Bec" Lee is the long‑time fiancée of Thomas Sewell, head of the National Socialist Network (NSN), a far‑right group that promotes white supremacist and anti‑Semitic views, according to reporting and statements by authorities. Lee’s father, who spoke to the Daily Mail and whom the paper did not name, said the family does not share racist views and has limited contact with their daughter while clinging to the hope she will one day break away from Sewell.
"We are in an incredibly difficult situation with our daughter caught up with him," the father told the Daily Mail through a mesh security door outside his home in Melbourne’s inner east. "We do not share racist views. We want nothing to do with him." He said it was painful because Lee and Sewell have children together and the family does not want to lose contact with their granddaughters.
Lee and Sewell were students at Balwyn High School, the father said, and the two reportedly began their relationship after crossing paths there. The father said the family refused to accept Sewell despite the couple having been together since 2019 and now engaged to be married. He denied reports that the couple are already husband and wife and said Lee had lived elsewhere for a time.
Court records and reporting indicate Sewell was recently charged over an alleged attack on Camp Sovereignty, a First Nations protest site at King’s Domain in central Melbourne. Police allege Sewell led a group of NSN members from an anti‑immigration rally into the camp, where clashes left several people injured. Authorities say one woman required staples to close a head wound and others were treated for cuts and bruises.
Sewell faces 25 charges, including violent disorder, affray, assault and discharging a missile. A magistrate refused him bail, saying she was "satisfied he would endanger the safety of others if released into the community." At court appearances, Lee has been photographed alongside Sewell and at one appearance delivered a statement blaming Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan for his arrest, saying, "This is Jacinta Allan's fault… because she hates Australians," according to reporting.
Detective Senior Constable Saer Pascoe told Melbourne Magistrates' Court that the couple had been evicted from a Wantirna South home and had been living between a holiday campervan and Sewell’s in‑laws' home in Balwyn with their two young daughters, aged two years and eight months, the court heard. Lee’s father said she does not live at his property and that contact between them is minimal.
Sewell and the NSN have promoted a program of producing families and encouraging early marriage among members, according to material circulating online and reporting by several outlets. In an online livestream quoted by reporters, Sewell said he would encourage his children to marry young in pursuit of an "ethnostate." Encrypted Telegram chats attributed to the group show female members adopting a "tradwife" role and sharing conservative imagery and messages about motherhood.
Photographs published in reporting show a contrast between earlier images of Lee and recent appearances beside Sewell. Images from 2013 show her with copper‑coloured hair and casual clothing, while more recent photos show her in modest dresses and without makeup, appearances described in media coverage as aligning with the NSN's promoted image of traditional female roles.
Authorities and community leaders have raised concerns about the rise of neo‑Nazi and far‑right activity in Australia in recent years, linking it to a small but active network of groups that have organised rallies and, in some cases, violent confrontations. Nathan Bull, another figure associated with far‑right activism, was filmed alongside Sewell at King’s Domain wearing a mouthguard during the events that led to the recent charges.
Lee’s father said the family hopes she will one day separate from Sewell but acknowledged the challenge of her continued public support for him. "It's tough, because she has children with him, and we don't want to lose the relationship with our granddaughters," he said. The Daily Mail did not suggest Lee holds racist beliefs, only that she is engaged to Sewell and has accompanied him to court on multiple occasions.
Sewell’s legal matters and the family’s private conflict highlight tensions that can arise when intimate relationships intersect with extremist political movements. Police and courts are continuing to prosecute the charges against Sewell, while family members and community observers watch for the legal outcomes and any broader implications for far‑right activity in Australia.