Italian teenager arrested for ISIS association, antisemitic and neo-Nazi propaganda

A 16-year-old Italian boy from the province of Como has been arrested for his alleged association with ISIS and possession of neo-Nazi and antisemitic propaganda material. The teenager was vacationing with his family in Grosseto when he was apprehended on charges of participating in an association for international terrorism, propaganda, and incitement to commit crimes motivated by racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination.

The investigation was carried out by DIGOS officers from Milan, in collaboration with Como DIGOS and the Central Directorate of the Prevention Police's Service for Combating Extremism and External Terrorism. The case was triggered by a report from AISI regarding a user disseminating jihadist propaganda through multiple messaging platform profiles.

Further probing led police to the boy, who had never previously been linked to radical groups. The arrest represents an atypical case of a minor with no prior extremist connections being charged with terrorism-related offenses. DIGOS's subsequent search of the boy's personal and digital information uncovered a substantial amount of extremist material, including translated Islamic State propaganda, training videos, execution footage, supremacist and antisemitic content, and instructions for crafting improvised explosive devices.

One video reportedly instructed viewers on creating explosive devices using common materials. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini described the boy, described as "another well-mannered and perfectly integrated 'Italian' boy of foreign origin," as "ready to build bombs in the name of Islamist terrorism." Police did not disclose the boy's ethnicity in public statements.