Digos visits colonel dressed as Nazi and seizes uniform, weapons and memorabilia

Giovanni Fuochi, former Air Force colonel and former Brothers of Italy candidate for the Piacenza elections, was expecting “leftists” disguised as Nazis, but Digos agents went to see him. And it was certainly not a courtesy call.

Twenty years of relics and regularly held weapons were also seized

The Piacenza prosecutor’s office ordered a search of his house after a post on Facebook in which the former soldier was wearing an SS uniform and wrote “Sinistrorsi I will wait for you”. This explosive joke has cost Fuochi, who is under investigation for propaganda and incitement to commit crimes due to racial, ethnic and religious discrimination, and will now have to defend himself. As we learned, the crime contested in the search warrant is Article 604 bis of the Penal Code. As is the custom of certain elements, the post was removed along with many comments, but the network’s memory and the screenshots of the users had already provided the investigators with the material to trigger the measure. In addition to the uniform, complete with red armband and swastika, the army also took the Duce’s calendar and various memorabilia related to his twentieth anniversary. The regularly held weapons and ammunition were also seized. Fuochi served at the San Damiano Air Force base from 1998 to 2001; In 1983, he controlled air traffic at the third wing, and in 1986, he served in the command secretariat of the Air War College. In 1996, the officer was assigned to the 1st Air Region Command, then became the base commander.

The man had responded to some of his critics before removing the post. “I collect uniforms – he wrote – and I wanted to say ‘alarm clock’, a bit like General Roberto Vannacci”. With others, he took things even further: “You should see the whole uniform: including the boots and the Luger L8 pistol”. And again: “If they had given me a little space, you would have seen how LGBT people and other diverse people disappear”. And then the confession: “I am a fascist and proud of it, those who claim to be democrats are much more intolerant than me”. With the content already going viral and his Facebook profile full of angry comments, the former soldier removed the post, commenting: “We all need test subjects”.

He later retracted his tone, adopting a decidedly softer tone: “I am not nostalgic and I am not old enough to fight things. But it pains me to see Italy kneel before things I don’t like,” he said in an interview with Repubblica. The controversy was fueled when Sara Soresi, a municipal councillor for Piacenza’s Fratelli d’Italia, posted a “like” under the offending post. “The resistance is engraved on the Gold Medal of Military Valor awarded to Piacenza for sacrificing so many of its children on the complicated and painful journey towards Liberation. The fact that there is still someone who incites hatred in 2024 is really turning a blind eye. I find the teachings shameful,” mayor Katia Tarasconi thundered. Giovanni Fuochi was nominated as an independent candidate in the 2022 local elections, winning 41 votes on the Brothers of Italy list.