Extinction Rebellion activist charged in Rome over Meloni and Trump caricatures

An activist from the environmental movement Extinction Rebellion has been reported to the Rome Prosecutor's Office for the crime of contempt of the Republic and the Government. The legal action stems from a protest held on May 30 in Piazza dell’Esquilino, Rome.

During the 24-hour demonstration, protesters displayed an installation featuring an inflatable globe and a space rocket model covered in a black substance simulating oil. The installation included the slogan ‘Fascisti su Marte’ (Fascists on Mars) alongside cardboard caricatures of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and former U.S. President Donald Trump clinging to the rocket.

Law enforcement intervened shortly after the display began, ordering the immediate removal of the materials and seizing the satirical figures. The movement has criticized the legal action as an attack on freedom of expression and the right to dissent, arguing that political satire is being targeted.