Askatasuna protesters and the recent defeat of the government's justice referendum adds extra dimension to Saturday's No Kings demonstration.Security forces in Rome are on maximum alert ahead of a major demonstration on Saturday, with thousands of protesters from across Italy set to converge on the capital.The planned protests have taken on a charged new dimension following the defeat of the government's judicial reform referendum and the deaths of two anarchists who were assembling a bomb in a Rome park last week. Demonstrations The No Kings Italia movement will take to the streets as part of the global 'Together - Against Kings and Their Wars' mobilisation. Police are expecting around 15,000 people though the number - coming on the heels of the referendum result - could be considerably higher. The national march will depart at 14.00 from Piazza della Repubblica and proceed to Piazza San Giovanni, with CGIL trade unionists gathering from 13.00. The protest is intended as a forceful statement against war and rearmament, and against every form of erosion of constitutional liberties, placing at its centre the themes of international law, democratic freedoms in Italy and globally, and the rejection of an economic model founded on military expenditure and conflict. The initiative is being held concurrently with the "Together" event in London and the No Kings Day in the United States. Hundreds of coaches are expected to arrive from across Italy, bringing together some 700 organisations including ANPI, Emergency, Amnesty International, the Italian Network for Peace and Disarmament, ARCI, CGIL, student movements and pro-Palestinian groups. Organisers have also announced a separate "March of the Invisibles" departing from the Colosseum at midday, representing migrants who have died at sea or been denied their rights, which will join the main procession at Piazza della Repubblica. Askatasuna Running simultaneously with the No Kings demonstration is a mobilisation organised by activists of the Askatasuna social centre, the long-standing autonomous hub in Turin that was forcibly evicted by DIGOS officers last December. The eviction, which brought nearly 30 years of occupation to an end, was carried out in connection with investigations into attacks on the headquarters of the newspaper La Stampa, the OGR cultural space, and the defence group Leonardo, during pro-Palestinian protests in previous months. Violent clashes followed, with around 100 police officers injured, and up to 50,000 people marched through Turin in late January in a national solidarity demonstration. The violence resulted in the government on approving sweeping new security measures, fast-tracking legislation including a controversial measure known as preventive detention which grants police the power to detain individuals deemed a "threat to public safety" for up to 12 hours, before a demonstration begins. Saturday's Rome march represents the next major milestone in the Askatasuna movement's sustained campaign. Anarchist dimension and the bomb-making deaths The date of 28 March had been known to security services for some time, and had already been considered a sensitive event from a public-order perspective. The level of alert has been raised further following the explosion at a farmhouse in Rome's Parco degli Acquedotti, in which two anarchists - Sara Ardizzone and Alessandro Mercogliano - died while constructing a bomb.  Investigators believe the two were killed when the improvised device they were assembling detonated prematurely. Mercogliano's body showed burns and the mutilation of an arm, consistent with proximity to an explosion. Both victims were known to investigators and were linked to the so-called Cospito group - the network of anarcho-insurrectionist activists associated with Alfredo Cospito, the anarchist held under Italy's harshest detention regime, the 41-bis, since 2022. Investigators are working on the hypothesis that the device was intended for a planned attack in the weeks ahead. Possible targets include the railway network - already the subject of several anarchist sabotage incidents in February during the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics - and the defence group Leonardo. Investigators also consider it possible that the planned action was connected to the approaching expiry in May of the four-year ministerial decree applying the 41-bis regime to Cospito's detention. The possibility that the bomb was intended as a demonstration ahead of the 28 March march in support of Askatasuna has also not been excluded by investigators. Within anarchist circles, a communiqué signed by numerous groups declared that Ardizzone and Mercogliano were "fraternal comrades, of whom we are proud. Sara and Sandro died in action, died fighting. The social war is not a performance, a lifestyle, or a subculture."  Security operation The DIGOS anti-terrorism police and the Carabinieri's intelligence unit have already begun their work. The upcoming demonstration has been the subject of multiple meetings at the prefecture; it is also on the agenda of the provincial committee for public order and safety, and a final security plan will be drawn up at a technical meeting at the police headquarters. The main concern is that extreme fringe elements may attempt to infiltrate the march. Arrivals from outside the region will be particularly closely monitored, with controls at key junctions including train and coach stations and motorway toll booths, becoming progressively tighter as the event approaches.  The march will follow a set route from Piazza della Repubblica, passing through Via Cavour, Piazza dell'Esquilino, Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore and Via Merulana before reaching its conclusion at Piazza San Giovanni. Referendum backdrop The demonstrations are taking place in an atmosphere further energised by the recent defeat of the government's judicial reform referendum. Voting on 22 and 23 March, Italians rejected by 53.74 per cent to 46.26 per cent a constitutional reform championed by prime minister Giorgia Meloni's government, which would have introduced the separation of careers between prosecuting and judging magistrates, split the high council of the judiciary into two distinct bodies, and established an independent disciplinary court for the magistracy. The result was celebrated by magistrates, the centre-left opposition parties, trade unions, student collectives and the left in general, with the result widely interpreted as a broader political verdict against the right-wing government. Security sources note that the No vote could swell Saturday's crowd beyond the 15,000 officially notified. The organisers of the No Kings march had already framed the demonstration as a challenge to what they describe as an authoritarian turn in Italian and global politics. Coming days after a clear popular rebuke to the government at the ballot box, Saturday's protest in Rome will be watched closely both by the authorities charged with maintaining order and by a political class still digesting the consequences of a bruising referendum defeat. The demonstration will result in traffic restrictions including multiple road closures and city buses being re-routed. Photo credit: Eugenio Marongiu / Shutterstock.com

Security forces in Rome are on maximum alert ahead of a major demonstration on Saturday, with thousands of protesters from across Italy set to converge on the capital. The planned protests have taken on a charged new dimension following the defeat of the government's judicial reform referendum and the deaths of two anarchists who were assembling a bomb in a Rome park last week. The No Kings Italia movement will take to the streets as part of the global 'Together - Against Kings and Their Wars' mobilisation. Police are expecting around 15,000 people though the number - coming on the heels of the referendum result - could be considerably higher. The national march will depart at 14.00 from Piazza della Repubblica and proceed to Piazza San Giovanni, with CGIL trade unionists gathering from 13.00. The protest is intended as a forceful statement against war and rearmament, and against every form of erosion of constitutional liberties, placing at its centre the themes of international law, democratic freedoms in Italy and globally, and the rejection of an economic model founded on military expenditure and conflict. The initiative is being held concurrently with the "Together" event in London and the No Kings Day in the United States. Hundreds of coaches are expected to arrive from across Italy, bringing together some 700 organisations including ANPI, Emergency, Amnesty International, the Italian Network for Peace and Disarmament, ARCI, CGIL, student movements and pro-Palestinian groups. Organisers have also announced a separate "March of the Invisibles" departing from the Colosseum at midday, representing migrants who have died at sea or been denied their rights, which will join the main procession at Piazza della Repubblica. Running simultaneously with the No Kings demonstration is a mobilisation organised by activists of the Askatasuna social centre, the long-standing autonomous hub in Turin that was forcibly evicted by DIGOS officers last December. The eviction, which brought nearly 30 years of occupation to an end, was carried out in connection with investigations into attacks on the headquarters of the newspaper La Stampa, the OGR cultural space, and the defence group Leonardo, during pro-Palestinian protests in previous months. Violent clashes followed, with around 100 police officers injured, and up to 50,000 people marched through Turin in late January in a national solidarity demonstration. The violence resulted in the government on approving , fast-tracking legislation including a controversial measure known as preventive detention which grants police the power to detain individuals deemed a "threat to public safety" for up to 12 hours, before a demonstration begins. Saturday's Rome march represents the next major milestone in the Askatasuna movement's sustained campaign. The date of 28 March had been known to security services for some time, and had already been considered a sensitive event from a public-order perspective. The level of alert has been raised further following the explosion at a farmhouse in Rome's Parco degli Acquedotti, in which two anarchists - .  Investigators believe the two were killed when the improvised device they were assembling detonated prematurely. Mercogliano's body showed burns and the mutilation of an arm, consistent with proximity to an explosion. Both victims were known to investigators and were linked to the so-called Cospito group - the network of anarcho-insurrectionist activists associated with , the anarchist held under Italy's harshest detention regime, the 41-bis, since 2022. Investigators are working on the hypothesis that the device was intended for a planned attack in the weeks ahead. Possible targets include the railway network - already the subject of y during the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics - and the defence group Leonardo. Investigators also consider it possible that the planned action was connected to the approaching expiry in May of the four-year ministerial decree applying the 41-bis regime to Cospito's detention. The possibility that the bomb was intended as a demonstration ahead of the 28 March march in support of Askatasuna has also not been excluded by investigators. Within anarchist circles, a communiqué signed by numerous groups declared that Ardizzone and Mercogliano were "fraternal comrades, of whom we are proud. Sara and Sandro died in action, died fighting. The social war is not a performance, a lifestyle, or a subculture."  The DIGOS anti-terrorism police and the Carabinieri's intelligence unit have already begun their work. The upcoming demonstration has been the subject of multiple meetings at the prefecture; it is also on the agenda of the provincial committee for public order and safety, and a final security plan will be drawn up at a technical meeting at the police headquarters. The main concern is that extreme fringe elements may attempt to infiltrate the march. Arrivals from outside the region will be particularly closely monitored, with controls at key junctions including train and coach stations and motorway toll booths, becoming progressively tighter as the event approaches.  The march will follow a set route from Piazza della Repubblica, passing through Via Cavour, Piazza dell'Esquilino, Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore and Via Merulana before reaching its conclusion at Piazza San Giovanni. The demonstrations are taking place in an atmosphere further energised by the recent . Voting on 22 and 23 March, Italians rejected by 53.74 per cent to 46.26 per cent a constitutional reform championed by prime minister Giorgia Meloni's government, which would have introduced the separation of careers between prosecuting and judging magistrates, split the high council of the judiciary into two distinct bodies, and established an independent disciplinary court for the magistracy. The result was celebrated by magistrates, the centre-left opposition parties, trade unions, student collectives and the left in general, with the result widely interpreted as a broader political verdict against the right-wing government. Security sources note that the No vote could swell Saturday's crowd beyond the 15,000 officially notified. The organisers of the No Kings march had already framed the demonstration as a challenge to what they describe as an authoritarian turn in Italian and global politics. Coming days after a clear popular rebuke to the government at the ballot box, Saturday's protest in Rome will be watched closely both by the authorities charged with maintaining order and by a political class still digesting the consequences of a bruising referendum defeat. The demonstration will result in including multiple road closures and city buses being re-routed. Photo credit: Eugenio Marongiu / Shutterstock.com