Ignazio La Russa denies responsibility for 1973 Milan incident

Italian Senate President Ignazio La Russa has released a video addressing allegations regarding his involvement in the ‘Black Thursday’ events of April 12, 1973, in Milan. The incident involved the death of 22-year-old police officer Antonio Marino, who was killed by a hand grenade thrown by activists during a period of intense political violence.

La Russa, who was a youth leader for the Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI) at the time, dismissed claims of his personal responsibility as ‘fake news.’ He stated that the MSI had organized a demonstration to protest violence following recent attacks on youths and the kidnapping of a unionist.

According to La Russa, the MSI initially accepted a ban on the procession by the Prefecture, but a subsequent ban was placed on their scheduled rally just hours before it was to begin. He claimed the justification for the rally ban—that it was due to the opening of the Milan Trade Fair—was an unprecedented suspension of constitutional rights intended to provoke incidents that could be used to target the MSI.