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

Three adults and 14 minors were charged with training for terrorist activities, incitement to commit hate crimes, and propaganda after an Italian General Investigations and Special Operations Division (DIGOS) investigation into online neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups, the Italian state police announced on Friday.

DIGOS officers in multiple areas of Italy executed search warrants on the suspects' computers and belongings. They uncovered bladed weapons, paraphernalia with Nazi symbolism, and electronic devices used to spread propaganda.

Italian authorities launched the investigation after monitoring online channels linked to accelerationist, white supremacist, and neo-Nazi ideologies.

According to the police, the suspects actively participated in two groups on a private social network.

Suspects engaged in Holocaust denial, discussed white supremacist attacks

One group was active chatrooms tied to the “New European Order,” a movement based on Nazi propaganda, white supremacy, and antisemitism. The chatrooms focused on Holocaust denial, Nazi ideology, 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 towards Jewish people, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community, according to the DIGOS investigation.

In the online groups and chatrooms, the suspects praised Adolf Hitler and discussed details of attacks carried out by white supremacist extremists, including weapons and tactics used.

The suspects also shared instructions for handling guns and knives, as well as manuals for making and detonating homemade explosives designed to maximize lethal impact.

The suspects also played online games together in which they recreated simulations of violence and attacks against minority groups.