Terrifying moment a former leader of an anti-Muslim group assaults his Uber-driver neighbour in front of the man's two-year-old son
- Former leader of an anti-Islamic group was filmed assaulting his neighbour
- Ralph Cerminara faced Burwood Local Court and was found guilty of assault
- He's filmed repeatedly shoving his neighbour before turning on another man
- Cerminara said the incident was over a car scratch and said it was self defense
- The magistrate refuted his claims and he's due to reappear in court in March
The shocking moment a former leader of an anti-Islamic group attacked his next door neighbour and threatened another man has been captured on camera.
Ralph Cerminara, who faced Burwood Local Court, in inner west Sydney on February 5, begged Magistrate Robyn Denes not to publicly release the footage of the incident, which took place outside his home in Marrickville, a Sydney suburb, in March last year.
The former leader of the alt-right group Australian Defence League was found guilty of the attack, in which he aggressively shoves his Uber-driver neighbour in front of the man's two-year-old child.
Cerminara was charged with two counts of intimidation and one count of common assault.
However, his sentence appeared to be the least of his worries as Cerminara was fearful that if the magistrate released the footage he would be subjected to reprisals from 'left wing fundamentalists' members.
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The shocking footage shown to the court sees a confrontation in a car park quickly escalate after Cerminara accuses his neighbour of scratching his car.
Cerminara can be heard shouting abuse at a neighbour, while the man continues to clean his own car in the company of his toddler.
Ralph Cerminara (pictured left) faced Burwood Local Court, in inner west Sydney on February 5, and begged Magistrate Robyn Denes not to publicly release the footage
The shocking footage shown in court sees a confrontation in a car park quickly escalate between Cerminara (pictured left) and his neighbours
In a bid to defuse the situation the neighbour says 'go now', to which Cerminara replies: 'maybe I'll just rip your f***ing head off now'.
Unable to keep his cool, Cerminara starts shoving the neighbour, while within eye-shot of the man's young child.
In a fowl-mouthed rant Cerminara can be heard screaming: 'Stop f***ing touching my f***ing car, I'll punch your f***ing head off.'
Another neighbour, Shaun Pietersma, who claims to have had numerous run-ins with Cerminara, is then targeted by Cerminara after he notices he's filming the situation unfold.
He then starts shouting: 'As for you, you f***wit, you're f***ing next'.
Cerminara (pictured) was charged with two counts of intimidation and one count of common assault
The court heard Cerminara's lawyer, Scott Sier, claim his client would be in danger if the footage was released.
'He's going to be in a compromised position if this video comes to light,' Mr Sier said, according to The Sunday Morning Herald.
He added Cerminara would be 'assaulted by members of the left wing'.
However, Magistrate Denes refuted the claims and released the footage.
She also noted that Cerminara had lied in his evidence about the attack, stating his neighbour had pushed him off-camera.
Burwood Local Court (pictured) heard Cerminara's lawyer, Scott Sier, claim his client would be in danger if the footage was released
The claim about the scratched car is also believed to be false.
Commenting on claims about the car scratch, Ms Denes said: 'In reality, what this is all about is he's seen some children or child around his car and he's just made assumptions.'
Cerminara has frequently found himself in trouble with the law, and has a lengthy criminal history including assault and high-range drink driving.
He is due to reappear in court on March 14 to be sentenced.
Cerminara (pictured) is due to reappear in court on March 14 to be sentenced for the incident
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