After violent riots on Lake Garda, Italy fears further riots in public places. The incidents of June 2 in the town of Peschiera, when some drunk young people attacked each other, jumped onto cars and later sexually molested women on a train, have been occupying politicians for two weeks.
This Wednesday, Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese wanted to provide information in Parliament in Rome about the investigations to date and the future tactics of the law enforcement agencies. Since the young people are mostly men with a migration background, the country and right-wing politicians in particular are again intensively debating integration.
Young people announced more flash mobs
Some rioters, often dubbed “baby gangs” by the police and the media in Italy, have already announced further gatherings via social media. Among other things, the Adriatic town of Riccione near Rimini was chosen as a meeting place. Matteo Salvini from the right-wing Lega distributed a corresponding TikTok video on his Twitter channel. “Violence and threats are not tolerated here,” he wrote.
So far, however, far fewer young people than expected have turned up for the announced meetings, as “Der Standard” reports. So it remains unclear for the time being whether the announcements for meetings on the Adriatic are pure provocations.
Sexual assaults on crowded trains
On June 2, Italy’s national holiday, around 2,000 young people from several cities in northern Italy reportedly gathered for a flash mob in Peschiera on Lake Garda, which is popular with tourists. The situation escalated: there were fights with injuries and thefts; Tourists were harassed, cars and shop windows were demolished.
In addition, there are said to have been sexual assaults: According to their own statements, some underage women were harassed and sexually molested by young men in the completely overcrowded regional train from Lake Garda to Milan. They were able to leave the train early and filed a complaint.
The public prosecutor’s office in Verona is now investigating possible suspects. A second line of investigation deals with the previous incidents in Peschiera. As “Der Standard” reports, most of the suspects are Italian-born men from the nearby regions of Lombardy and Veneto.
