However, now a member of the club is hitting back inside the courtroom – and they’ve engaged one of Sydney’s leading criminal lawyers to do it.

David John Garlick claims police acted unlawfully when they seized his Fourth Reich patched vest during a search of his house under a firearms prohibition order (FPO) on the morning of June 13.

Now he wants it back.

Barrister Steven Boland, who has acted in several high-profile cases in Sydney including representing terror accused Omarjan Azari, appeared in Port Kembla Local Court on Tuesday morning seeking a formal court order for the return of Garlick’s vest.

The Mercury understands Garlick was served with a FPO at his Dapto home following a police decision that categorised him as a person “not fit to possess a firearm”.

The order effectively bans him from “acquiring, possessing or using firearms, firearm parts of ammunition”. The legislation allows police to enter the home of someone who is the subject of a FPO without a warrant and search their house for guns and ammunition.

Mr Boland said it would be argued that the seizure of Garlick’s Fourth Reich vest by police that day was illegal.

“Police took clothes and items from him [that were] clearly outside the scope of the legislation under which they entered the house,” he said.

Magistrate Michael Stoddart adjourned the case to October 18 for a formal hearing.

Meantime, Garlick has pleaded not guilty to three firearms charges stemming from the search.

The court heard police searched his house immediately after serving him with the order, uncovering three shotgun shells, a rifle magazine and air pellets.

Garlick was then charged with being in possession of a firearm – while subject to an FPO. The Mercury understands Garlick does not dispute ownership of the ammunition, but his legal team will argue against it contravening an FPO that was only served on him moments earlier.

The firearms matter will return to court on October 3.