Riots broke out in Milan during a demonstration on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics.
02/08/2026, 06:0802/08/2026, 06:08
Some participants threw smoke bombs and Molotov cocktails at security forces after a protest march of more than 3,000 people.
The demonstrators also attacked police officers. They responded with the use of batons and tear gas.Image: keystone
The police used batons, water cannons and tear gas. There were six arrests. The protest was directed, among other things, against the presence of officers from the US immigration police ICE at the Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. The police spoke of around 3,000 participants. According to other estimates there were around 5,000.
At the demonstration – as in previous marches – posters such as “ICE out” or “ICE=SS” could be seen. The US immigration police have been criticized for their sometimes brutal crackdown on migrants in the United States, in which two people were killed. In the US delegation, ICE officers are supposed to take care of the protection of officials such as US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Italy’s right-wing government emphasized several times that ICE members would not be deployed on the streets. In total, more than 6,000 Italian security forces will be deployed around the games. A week ago, more than 100 people were injured at a rally by autonomous activists in the former Olympic city of Turin. (sda/dpa)