Sixteen-year-old arrested in Bologna area: jihadist material and weapons manuals found on phone
A 16-year-old boy resident in the Bologna area has been arrested by the Verona DIGOS for possession of material intended for terrorism purposes. His smartphone contained manuals for manufacturing weapons and supremacist and jihadist propaganda.
Sixteen-year-old detained in Bologna area with jihadist material and weapons manufacturing guides
A 16-year-old boy resident in the province of Bologna has been arrested by the Verona DIGOS on suspicion of possession of material intended for terrorism purposes, according to la Repubblica. The operation, carried out with support from DIGOS agents in Bologna and under the coordination of the Central Directorate of Prevention Police, involved a personal, residential and digital search ordered by the prosecutor's office at the Court for Minors in Bologna.
Investigation launched in autumn 2025
The investigation began in autumn 2025 as part of monitoring of online channels linked to supremacist extremism. Investigators identified the young man's account through the monitored web channel, with coordination of activities transferred from the district prosecutor's office in Venice to the Court for Minors in the Emilian capital.
In investigative terminology, the phenomenon is defined as "white jihad": a convergence between supremacist extremism content and jihadist propaganda, ideologies that are apparently distant but united by the glorification of violence as a tool for ideological assertion.
What was found during the search
A4 sheets were discovered at the boy's home with drawings, symbols and emblems linked to supremacist ideology, along with a typewritten page with instructions for the handmade construction of a bulletproof vest.
The smartphone contained supremacist and jihadist propaganda material, manuals for manufacturing improvised weapons — including one dedicated to the construction of a pistol —, a text translated from Cyrillic with information on aggressive chemical substances, and a manual for the preparation of improvised explosive devices.
The device also contained the full video of the 2019 Christchurch attack in New Zealand, accompanied by messages in which the perpetrator of the massacre — sentenced to life imprisonment — was indicated as a model to emulate.
Arrest upheld, internet ban for two months
The boy was arrested whilst committing the crime and transferred to a first reception facility in Ancona. The judicial authority upheld the arrest and imposed, for a period of two months, a ban on using electronic devices and accessing the internet, as well as a ban on searching for, acquiring or possessing material related to subversive or terrorist ideologies.
Source: la Repubblica