The Italian Senate’s facade was smeared with red paint on Monday morning by a group of “Last Generation” environmentalists. Demonstrators succeeded in vandalizing a door and a few windows of Rome’s central Palazzo Madama, home to the country’s upper house.
Five people have been detained in relation to the raid, as the investigation into what happened is being conducted by the General investigations and special operations division (DIGOS) with the assistance of the Italian Carabinieri.
In a note, the activists claimed the raid, explaining that it stems from “the succession of increasingly alarming statistics and data on the eco-climatic collapse, which has already begun, and the disinterest of the political world in the face of what is looming as the greatest genocide in human history.”
According to the activists, the raid occurred around 7:45 in the morning and involved the use of fire extinguishers and orange paint, as seen in a video the group published. Images also depict young people defacing the Senate’s front while some carabinieri go in to stop them.
Senate speaker Ignazio La Russa condemned the attack, stressing that there is “no alibi, no justification for an act that offends all institutions and that only thanks to the cold-bloodedness of law enforcement did not transcend into violence.”
