Thomas Sewell, a 32-year-old white nationalist, sought bail at Melbourne Magistrates Court today, following a night in custody after being detained outside the court.

Sewell faces charges of 25 offenses, including violent disorder and affray, stemming from an investigation into the alleged assault on Camp Sovereignty at King’s Domain in the city on Sunday.

Prosecutor Jonathon McCarthy urged the magistrate to reject Sewell’s bail request, emphasizing that he constitutes an “unacceptable risk to society” due to his increasingly violent actions.

He was on bail when he allegedly committed the offences and police sought to revoke that conditional release.

Detective Senior Constable Saer Pascoe informed the court of concerns regarding Sewell, who leads the neo-Nazi National Socialist Network, allegedly inspiring others to engage in violence.

“The applicant’s behaviour in recent times has been escalating in violence and concerning behaviour,” he said.

“He is their leader and has complete control. He has shown he has a large group of followers who will attack on instruction.”

Pascoe referred to Sewell becoming “erratic” after shouting and interrupting a press conference of Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan yesterday.

Sewell is accused of leading roughly 30 men dressed in black to invade the Indigenous camp Sunday evening after participating in an anti-immigration gathering in the city.

“The applicant turned back to the National Socialist Network group and incites the group, by instructing them to charge towards Camp Sovereignty,” Pascoe said.

Members of the network held down occupants of the camp and began to kick them, he said.

The detective described Camp Sovereignty as “a First Nations refuge” and said another person was struck with a pole, kicked and punched by members of the network.

The incident injured three people, with the worst suffered by a woman who required staples in her scalp to close a wound, the court was told.

Nathan Bull, 23, and a 20-year-old from Ardeer have been charged with violent disorder, affray and other offences following the incident, but they were bailed by police last night.

Sewell had also been arrested and interviewed over an incident on August 9, for which he has been charged with assault and committing an offence while on bail, Pascoe said.

He and a large group of members from his group participated in a march through Melbourne’s city centre and then assaulted a man, the detective said.

Sewell’s lawyer, interstate solicitor Mathew Hopkins, appeared by video link to ask the magistrate to bail his client.

He claimed prosecutors were only using the August 9 incident to “bolster” their argument to deny bail and were intertwining their evidence with a “political attack” on his client.

In the earlier incident, Sewell was acting in self-defence as the other man had hit him first, Hopkins said.

Sewell never missed a court hearing, was committed to fighting all charges and he needed to be released to help his wife and children return from a holiday in Queensland, he said.

Magistrate Donna Bakos will hand down her bail decision on Friday afternoon.

Sewell appeared in another courtroom after his bail application for a contested hearing over intimidation offences, a matter that had been cut short because of his arrest yesterday afternoon.

Magistrate Michelle Hodgson said she was aware he was in custody but would like to continue the hearing, which began on Monday.

“I would like to continue,” Sewell said, representing himself.

Prosecutor Melissa Mahady said witnesses were on standby and agreed to proceed, with Sewell asking to get access to his legal documents.

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