Italy Tightens Security Ahead of Expected Olympics Protests

On the eve of the 2026 Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony, the Italian government approved a new security measure to allow law enforcement to preventively arrest suspected troublemakers and detain them for up to 12 hours.

The decree approved by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Cabinet Thursday also contains 32 other security provisions, including a ban on carrying knives and other sharp objects and a ban on persons convicted of crimes such as terrorist attacks and looting from attending public gatherings.

It comes amid reported planned protests during the first days of the Winter Olympics, including in Piazza Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, one of the host cities, on the day of the opening ceremony. Demonstrators will reportedly gather to denounce the presence at the Games of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers—who have frequently been deployed to international events to assist with security though have recently been the subject of growing controversy over U.S. President Donald Trump’s heavy-handed immigration crackdown—following protests the weekend before.

Meloni, who came into office in 2022, has championed law and order, but rights groups have criticized her tenure for eroding civil liberties. In June 2025, a previous security decree that the Italian Parliament passed cracked down on protest activity including road blockades and even some acts of passive resistance.

Matteo Piantedosi, the Italian Interior Minister, defended the police’s preventive detention power at a press conference on Thursday evening, claiming that it was “not a measure that kills freedom” and that similar laws exist in other countries. Piantedosi said the law drew “a very strong preventive hypothesis, on very important circumstantial evidence regarding the possibility that certain types of crimes could be committed during demonstrations, much like we have seen in recent days.”

Piantedosi appeared to refer to clashes between police and protesters in Turin in the country’s north over the weekend. On Jan. 31, thousands took to Turin’s streets to protest the eviction of far-left activists from the “Askatasuna” community center, which experts say they have occupied for decades. Videos of the clash show protesters hurling firecrackers at law enforcement and attacking their vehicles, with police responding with tear gas. One video, which Meloni reposted on social media, shows what appears to be an officer being attacked by protesters, including being repeatedly hit by a hammer.

The government said more than 100 security officers sustained injuries following the demonstrations, and nearly 30 protesters have been arrested in the aftermath. The clashes enraged supporters of Italy’s far-right leadership and prompted the government to speed up the passage of a security decree it has been developing.

After the Cabinet approved the decree, Meloni posted on social media that the new security measures are “not one-off measures” and that they aim to “protect citizens and to put the Police Forces in a position to work better and with greater protections.”

But former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, a leader of the opposition, said in a statement on social media that the government’s goal was to “exploit the events in Turin to stifle dissent,” adding that nothing is being done to invest in police officers.

Security measures at the Games

Olympics organizers earlier said that they were “ready” to meet the security challenges of the Milan Cortina Games, which run from Feb. 4–22.

This year’s Winter Games pose a particular challenge, given that events are scattered over multiple cities and towns across nearly 8,500 sq. mi. in northern Italy. Police said security efforts are centralized at a so-called International Olympic Operations Room command center in Rome, which will operate 24/7 starting Feb. 6. Officers from the Rome facility will coordinate with those in Bolzano, Milan, Sondrio, Trento, Venice, and Verona.

Among precautions in place, police said, are snipers monitoring high-security “red zones,” dog units and bomb disposal teams, and increased checks at railway stations and border crossings.

Days before the opening ceremony, the Italian government also said that it thwarted cyberattacks traced back to Russia, which is banned from officially competing.Tim Ayers, director of the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service Major Events Coordination Division, told Reuters on Thursday that “right now we are not tracking any credible threats.”