Europe

Verona residents want independence from Italy

Verona residents want independence from Italy

Italian protesters have taken to streets in the northern city of Verona to demand independence from the rest of the country.

On Sunday, hundreds of Verona residents rallied in Piazza dei Signori, calling for release of 24 activists arrested earlier in Venice’s main square.

The protesters waved flags of the Veneto region and detonated smoke bombs.

Matteo Salvini, the federal secretary of Lega Nord, a federalist and regionalist political party in Italy, also attended the protest.

“The jails are made for criminals and the mafia, not for the fathers and mothers of families… We are here to defend the freedom of thought and speech. The choice of the league is a non-violent choice,” Salvini told the crowd, adding, “It will be a march of freedom, a human chain of smiles.”

Erika Stefani, a senator from Lega Nord, also said “Today we take to the streets in Verona together to demonstrate with respect and civility…to make the voice of the Veneto heard… The citizens are tired of slogans, now they want facts.”

On Wednesday, the 24 activists were arrested on suspicion of plotting to take over Venice’s iconic St. Mark’s Square with a bulldozer.

Among those arrested was Franco Rocchetta, a former lawmaker and campaigner for Venetian independence who helped organize an unofficial online referendum in March.

More than 89 percent of Veneto’s residents voted in favor of independence but local media claimed the votes were generated by computers abroad.

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