'You Break it, You Pay!': Meloni Enacts Emergency Decree Against Multicultural Youth Riots

In a swift response to an outbreak of French-style youth unrest in Milan, Giorgia Meloni’s government has approved a decree empowering police and prosecutors to pursue rioters, including those under 18. Following an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers in Rome on Tuesday, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced a raft of new policing and judicial powers to confront the multicultural movement, which saw hundreds detained, looting, arson, and attacks on police in central Milan on Saturday and Sunday. Prime Minister Meloni said that while her government was already planning to introduce legislation targeting youth hoodlums, the new “decree on juvenile security and crime” will allow the measures to be implemented immediately, Italian public wire service ANSA reported. “We have all seen the images of the violence that shocked Milan and other Italian cities over the weekend: shops looted, windows smashed, and law enforcement officers attacked. These are unacceptable scenes that no one can even think of minimising or justifying, which is why today the Council of Ministers approved a decree with new measures to prevent and combat this violence,” she said. A new crime of violent participation in a protest was created by the decree, meaning that if you join a demonstration of more than five people in which stones, firecrackers, sticks or other implements are used to endanger the safety of others, you will face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to 20,000 euros ($22.5k). If a participant wears a mask or other face covering, injures others, or causes destruction, the penalties will increase. Meloni said the decree also includes a vandals-pay clause, which she said will follow the “simple principle” of “whoever breaks the law pays, and if the person breaking the law is a minor, their parents pay.” “How does it work? If the damage is to public property—a bus shelter, a traffic light, a van—the prefect sends the owner a payment order. If the damage is to a private individual—a shop window, a store, a car—the owner goes to the judge and obtains an immediately enforceable injunction,” she explained. Speaking from the Palazzo Chigi, Justice Minister Carlo Nordio added that “to stem this phenomenon that has affected our cities in recent days,” the decree allows for the justice system to presume that minors over the age of 14 have the “capacity to understand and decide” whether or not to engage in public violence and rioting. Nordio added that the decree will also create a new crime of using a computer or other electronic device to promote the formation of a violent demonstration, with a penalty of between four and 12 years in prison. In addition to changing the law, the government approved deploying 500 soldiers to Milan to help local police prevent further rioting. It came after two days of mayhem in the northern Italian city over the weekend, which saw 200 police officers injured during fights with so-called cost-of-living protesters. Over 270 people were detained during the demonstrations, including 220 minors, many of whom hail from migrant communities. Separately, on Tuesday, 11 minors were placed under house arrest for alleged involvement in the riots and looting and destruction. The changes to the criminal code were hailed by Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the populist League (Lega) party, Matteo Salvini, who said: “He who errs pays. Because he who smashes a shop window or assaults a sales clerk is not a revolutionary: HE’S A FUCKING IDIOT.” Salvini said that his party will push for legislation to further strengthen the state, including by allowing the government to strip citizenship or residence permits from migrants who commit crimes and to bar minors from receiving citizenship in Italy if they deal drugs, loot, or vandalise. Follow Kurt Zindulka on X: Follow @KurtZindulka or e-mail to: kzindulka@breitbart.com