A man wearing a One Nation cap has been arrested after allegedly performing a prohibited Nazi salute at an anti-immigration rally in Victoria.

Protests demanding cuts to migration were held in some capital cities on Sunday.

Several hundred demonstrators crowded Melbourne’s CBD, with right-wingers facing off against pro-migration groups such as Unite Against Racism Victoria, Unionists for Refugees and the Refugee Action Collective.

During one scuffle captured on video outside Town Hall, a man wearing a One Nation cap was arguing with bystanders when one called out that he was a “Nazi”.

The man responded by lifting his arm in an apparent Heil Hitler sign.

An opposing protester is then seen flicking the man’s cap off his head, which triggers him to throw furious punches as police intervene and wrestle him to the ground.

A man wearing a One Nation cap performs a Nazi salute. Photo: X (@AlboisPM)

Victoria Police said a 64-year-old Wantirna man was arrested and released pending summons.

“It’s alleged the Wantirna man assaulted another man at the intersection of Collins and Swanston streets about 1.25pm,” police said in a statement.

“There were no reports of injuries.

“The man is alleged to have earlier performed a Nazi salute.”

Meanwhile, One Nation Victoria leader Warren Pickering encouraged the crowd at Sunday’s “Australia Marches” rally in Melbourne to volunteer for upper house candidates, Family First MP Moira Deeming and the Libertarian Party’s David Limbrick.

“This groundswell, this movement, it all amounts to nothing if it doesn’t translate to having boots covered on election day,” Pickering said.

“There’s good people fighting for this state and this country, and we all need volunteers.

“We are in the middle of the most consequential election in Victorian history, and our enemies, the socialists, and everyone else are out there right now engaging our voter base.”

Deeming, who split from the Liberal Party in July after an ugly falling out, told the crowd she and Pickering had been working together behind the scenes for a decade.

“If you care about common values, then you can work together,” she said.

It comes after One Nation candidate Matthew Collins was forced to withdraw from the running after a series of offensive online comments resurfaced.

The 35-year-old, who was standing in the inner-city electorate of Melbourne, apologised for the comments after withdrawing his candidacy on Friday.

“I am very sorry for the unacceptable comments that I made,” he said in a statement provided by the party.

“They are not reflective of who I am as a person now and I deeply regret ever having made them.”

According to The Age, the comments made on a since-deleted X account included labelling asking for sexual consent from a woman as “cringe”.

Collins reportedly posted in 2020 that he had “never once asked any woman for any form of consent, ever”.

“It’s all implied by a woman’s actions and attraction levels which any astute man will be paying attention to,” the post said.

A One Nation spokesperson confirmed Collins’ resignation and said the party did not condone the comments.

Asked about the controversy on Sunday, Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said the former One Nation candidate should be condemned for his online views.

One Nation has been consistently polling third behind the coalition and Labor ahead of the state election, putting it in a position to pick up several seats.

-with AAP