Overview
- Police used water cannon, tear gas and batons to disperse protesters near the Olympic Village after small groups hurled fireworks, stones and Molotov cocktails, leading to multiple arrests.
- Demonstrations targeted the environmental footprint of the Games and rising housing costs, with ICE’s role accompanying the U.S. delegation emerging as a central grievance.
- Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denounced participants in the violence as “enemies of Italy,” and security services remain on high alert around Olympic sites.
- Authorities are probing suspected sabotage on northern rail lines, including a defused improvised device and cut cables near Bologna, after disruptions affected thousands of travelers.
- Athlete activism continued as Gus Kenworthy and Jessica Diggins criticized ICE and U.S. policy, and the IOC reiterated that it does not police participants’ personal social‑media posts.