Ben Roberts-Smith and Pauline Hanson mobbed by supporters at Remembrance Day service

Résumé détaillé

Members of the public, as well as current servicemen, lined up for photos with the former SAS soldier who is awaiting trial for war crimes.

Ben Roberts-Smith and Pauline Hanson were swarmed by supporters keen to have their photo taken with the accused war criminal and the One Nation leader following a Remembrance Day service in Brisbane.

“We know who the real celebrity is here,” one man remarked, before having his photo taken with decorated former SAS soldier Roberts-Smith, who is on bail awaiting trial on war crime charges.

As soon as the formalities at Anzac Square ended, Roberts-Smith was approached for photos in the blazing sun, while his girlfriend Sarah Matulin waited nearby.

Members of the public, including a man wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “I stand with BRS”, as well as acting military personnel, lined up to meet the former soldier as he wiped sweat from his brow amid the 30-degree heat.

One said: “Don’t let the bastards get you down.” Another man said: “Thank you for your service.”

“I’m very grateful for the support of the majority of Australians,” he told this masthead.

“But I think today, for me, was about remembering the sacrifice of all those who’ve been before me and the freedoms that we have in this country.

“As a current-day serviceman, it’s great that people are still happy to support us and continue to get behind those veterans.”

He was swarmed by supporters in a similar fashion at an Anzac Day dawn service on the Gold Coast in April.

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