- On Tuesday, the Italian government approved an emergency decree introducing a new criminal offense for violent demonstration participation, punishable by up to five years in prison and fines of up to $22,500.
- The measures follow violent protests in Milan on Saturday where 2,000 youths clashed with police, leaving more than 100 officers injured over two days amid looting and fires in central Milan.
- Deployment of 500 soldiers to Milan through year-end forms part of the security package, which also holds parents financially liable for damages caused by minors and allows police to detain youths aged 14 to 17.
- Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the riots as “criminality,” saying the presence of young rioters was “painful and frightening” and the government must prevent such images from becoming “a model for others to imitate.”
- Parliament must convert the decree into law within 60 days; this action occurs as Italy’s prison population has increased by more than 17% over four years under Meloni’s administration, according to government data.
Italy’s cabinet approved an emergency decree-law on Oct. 20 in response to the weekend riots in Milan, ANSA reported. The eight-article text creates a new offense of violent participation in demonstrations, extends preventive detention to minors aged 16 and over, and sends 500 more soldiers to Milan through Dec. 31 at a cost of €4.7 million.
Parents of minors who commit violence at demonstrations face fines of €500 to €1,000, and the fine doubles for a repeat. It applies even when the minor is too young to be prosecuted. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that if a minor is responsible for the damage, the parents should pay, and she asked all political forces to side with legality.
The new crime covers anyone who uses sticks or clubs or throws objects at a protest in a way that endangers people. It carries two to five years in prison and a fine of up to €20,000, with a higher penalty for a covered face or damage to public infrastructure or utilities. Anyone who organizes or promotes groups for violent demonstrations, including through online tools, faces four to 12 years.
For minors, those over 14 are presumed capable of understanding their acts and can be charged immediately, a provision carried over from a bill the cabinet approved in July. Meloni said then that anyone who assaults, robs or wrecks must pay “even if he is 15 or 16,” and the opposition called it propaganda and an authoritarian drift. The new decree also lets the police chief bar a group of five or more minors from gathering where they behave in an intimidating way. It also makes a minor injury to a police officer prosecutable automatically and adds optional deferred arrest for property damage.
Violence broke out in Milan after a Saturday demonstration over living costs and public services. Reuters reported that hooded protesters, many believed to be minors, set fires and looted shops including Decathlon and Vodafone while luxury stores on Via Montenapoleone stripped their windows. Police took 271 young people to the Milan police headquarters; 32 were arrested, 23 of them minors. Similar clashes hit Bologna, Brescia, Bergamo and Turin.
Euronews counted 14 injured officers and a damage estimate from the Confcommercio business group of over €1 million in Milan alone and at least €1.3 million nationwide.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said early findings ruled out structured links to antagonist groups, and no organizer has been identified. He called the youth mobilization spontaneous but said “something certainly happened” and that answers would come soon. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto blamed “hybrid warfare,” while Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini rejected the idea of a coordinating hand, Russian involvement included. Ynet reported that assessments suggest many participants simply wanted to break things, though police also identified radical-left activists from social centers who left once force was used.
The package was a political negotiation. After a 90-minute summit at Palazzo Chigi on Oct. 19, Il Sole 24 Ore reported that more than 200 young people had been detained and that 80 percent were under 18. Salvini announced “500 more soldiers to defend Milan. A victory for the League,” while Forza Italia claimed credit for the same troops. Crosetto’s request to give soldiers judicial police powers did not make it into the text, per ANSA, which also reported that tension with the presidential palace delayed the cabinet meeting by almost an hour. The government denied any blockage.
