Three environmental activists who threw orange paint at the facade of Italy’s Senate in Rome on Monday, angering the far-right Italian government, will face trial, a judge ruled on Tuesday.
Laura, 26, Davide, 23, and Alessandro, 21, members of the group Last Generation, whose full identities have not been released, face criminal damage charges. You face up to three years in prison.
Her trial begins May 12, her lawyer, Ilaria Salamandra, told AFP. She said she hopes the charges will be reclassified to retain only the desire to pollute the building, which carries a penalty of six months to a year in prison.
On Monday, the three youths were part of a group of five activists who used fire extinguishers to throw paint on the facade, windows and a large wooden door of the Senate.
Her action aims to “uncover the will of political and economic elites to consciously condemn a large part of the world’s population to drought, hunger, war and death,” Laura explained in a press release. These activists are calling on Italy to invest more in renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions.
Arriving quickly at the scene, police confiscated the fire extinguishers and arrested the five activists before releasing two. Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denounced a “scandalous gesture”.
In recent months, environmental activists around the world have multiplied their actions to bring global warming to the attention of public opinion.