Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni didn’t hold back Sunday in condemning anti-Olympics protests, acts of vandalism and an alleged act of sabotage against train infrastructure.
Italy’s transport ministry confirmed it has launched a terrorism investigation into the railway sabotage in northern Italy, in which Meloni said railway cables were cut to prevent trains from operating.
In a Facebook statement, Meloni said that while thousands of Italians — many of them volunteers — worked around the clock to ensure that “everything runs smoothly” for the Olympics, “there are those who are enemies of Italy and Italians, demonstrating ‘against the Olympics.’”
The suspected train sabotage came against the central Bologna hub, the key point that manages rail traffic connecting northern and southern Italy.
According to a report by Bologna Today, the president of the Emilia-Romagna region, Michele de Pascale, and regional councilor for Mobility and Transport Irene Priolo, stated that “What happened at the Bologna railway junction and on the Ancona-Rimini line, near Pesaro, are very serious incidents, which we strongly condemn.” They added in a statement that the actions are an “inconvenience to thousands of people and compromising an essential public service. We are in contact with (Italian train company) Trenitalia Tper and the relevant authorities to monitor developments in the situation.”
Authorities reported that the damage to the line, which affected both regional and high-speed services, had been fixed, and work was continuing in an effort to restore full network capacity.
Meanwhile, in Milan, a skirmish broke out between police and demonstrators at the end of a protest that police said, according to The Associated Press, initially numbered 10,000 and was peaceful. Footage shared widely on social media showed police arriving and a brief confrontation breaking out with dozens of protesters. According to several reports, Italian authorities deployed tear gas and a water cannon against demonstrators who set off firecrackers and attempted to access a highway near the Santagiulia Olympic ice hockey venue.
Using footage of the clashes, Meloni wrote on Facebook that the protestors were “ensuring that these images are broadcast on television screens around the world. This comes after others cut the railway cables to prevent trains from leaving.” She added, “Once again, we express our solidarity with the police, the city of Milan, and all those who will see their work undermined by these gangs of criminals.”
The initial protest appeared to be intended to raise concerns about the environmental impact of the Games and to protest the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Italy.
Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of ICE tasked with providing intelligence and monitoring human trafficking, cybercrime, and counterterrorism, often helps secure large sporting events such as the Olympics, World Cup, and the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, the division of ICE responsible for driving immigration enforcement inside the United States — known as Enforcement and Removal Operations — does not appear to have personnel in Italy.