Italy charges three adults, 14 minors with neo-Nazi, white supremacist activity-linked offenses

Italian police have charged three adults and 14 minors with offenses linked to neo-Nazi and white supremacist activity, including training for terrorism, incitement to hate crimes, and propaganda. The investigation by DIGOS uncovered bladed weapons, Nazi paraphernalia, and devices used to spread propaganda. Suspects were active in online groups tied to the "New European Order" and the Italian Fascist Front, where they praised Hitler, denied the Holocaust, and shared instructions for making explosives.

Italian state police announced on Friday that three adults and 14 minors have been charged with training for terrorist activities, incitement to commit hate crimes, and propaganda. The charges follow an investigation by the General Investigations and Special Operations Division (DIGOS) into online neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups. Officers executed search warrants across multiple areas of Italy, uncovering bladed weapons, paraphernalia with Nazi symbolism, and electronic devices used to spread propaganda. The investigation was launched after monitoring online channels linked to accelerationist, white supremacist, and neo-Nazi ideologies. According to police, the suspects actively participated in two groups on a private social network. One group was active in chatrooms tied to the "New European Order," a movement based on Nazi propaganda, white supremacy, and antisemitism, focusing on Holocaust denial and the dissemination of instructions for making explosive devices. The other suspects engaged in online communities for the Italian Fascist Front, a group that promotes hatred and violence toward Jewish people, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community. In these groups, suspects praised Adolf Hitler, discussed details of white supremacist attacks, and shared instructions for handling guns and knives, as well as manuals for making and detonating homemade explosives designed to maximize lethal impact. They also played online games together in which they recreated simulations of violence and attacks against minority groups.