A right-wing Italian activist is set to stand trial for hate speech over statements he published on social media in recent years.
Andrea Ballarati, 24, known for promoting the concept of remigration among Italian and European politicians, posted a series of written and video messages between 2020 and 2023 strongly criticising immigration and multicultural policies in Europe.
“Remigration” is a term increasingly used by right-wing, nationalist movements in Europe and the US to describe the large-scale, often forced deportation of illegal immigrants, refugees and sometimes their naturalised or native-born descendants to their countries of origin or ethnic ancestry.
“They’re trying to silence me because I advocate remigration,” Ballarati said, describing the trial as a judicial tool designed to criminalise his cause and to distance mainstream parties from it.
According to documents ordering the indictment — seen by Brussels Signal — the videos are described as “characterised by symbolism and a strong identitarian component”.
Among the phrases he used which were cited in court documents were: “Immigrant gangs that have never integrated and now dictate the rules in our cities are proof of the failure of the multicultural project,” “We call on real Italians to rise up,” and “France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, and many other countries are now on the verge of becoming immigrant-majority,” concluding with: “There is no more time, one watchword: act.”
If convicted, Ballarati could face up to one year and six months in prison.
The case has sparked debate across Europe, not only over the divisive issue of hate speech versus freedom of expression. Critics have also raised concerns about a transnational network calling itself “Identitarian” — of which Ballarati is considered a leading figure — that promotes the idea of remigration within right-wing parties in national parliaments, allegedly pushing them toward further radicalisation.
The Identitarian movement has been described by the media as a transnational lobby of young activists associated with the New Right, a radical political and cultural group that emerged in the 1960s.
It rejects nostalgic celebrations of 1930s regimes while emphasising cultural identity, sovereignty and the defence of differences among peoples, prioritising cultural influence (“metapolitics”) over direct partisan activity.
Critics accuse its members of being neo-fascists who have cleaned up their symbols and rhetoric— a claim the movement rejects.
Over the past few years, the network has forged ties with several European right-wing parties, lobbying for remigration.
The movement has strong ties with Lega and Fratelli d’Italia parties in Italy, Alternative for Germany (AfD), the Freedom Party (FPÖ) in Austria, and National Assembly (RN) in France. Many figures in these parties openly discuss remigration policies.
Ballarati became known to the Italian public in spring 2025 when he organised the Remigration Summit near Milan. That brought politicians and activists from across Europe and the US to Italy who share this agenda. The indictment came afterwards, although the investigation had been ongoing for several years.
As a teenager, Ballarati was a member of the youth wing of Fratelli d’Italia, the party of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and currently the main party in Italy’s governing coalition.
Later, after leaving the party, he founded a small right-wing association of about 10 young activists, with whom he published videos critical of immigration — including the statements now under scrutiny. His affiliation with the Identitarian movement became publicly known in 2023, when he spoke on stage at a demonstration in Vienna.
“Shortly after returning to Italy from Vienna, I received the notice informing me that I had been under investigation since 2021,” Ballarati said, adding that he believes the timing was no coincidence. The investigation reportedly began following one or more complaints about his videos, although he does not know by whom. “I will only find out when I go to trial.”
Ballarati claims that other documents show his phone was intercepted through a type of spyware, which retrieved his contacts, some of which, considered problematic by investigators, are mentioned in the files. He has not shared these, citing the privacy of the individuals involved.
“After receiving the notice,” he continued, “I was interrogated at the police headquarters in Como, the provincial capital where I live.
“During the interrogation, I was asked very few questions about the incriminated statements and many more about the concept of remigration and ethnic replacement, which have nothing to do with this proceeding.
“They were especially interested in my international contacts, particularly with other branches of the identitarian movement in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland,” he said.
Since then, he said he had received no updates until recently, when he was informed that the investigation would lead to trial.
Ballarati puts the trial within a broader European debate over the influence identitarian networks allegedly exercise behind the scenes on right-wing parties.
“In nearly every country where we operate, we face political, judicial, and intelligence pressure to cut our contacts with mainstream parties, whose leaders themselves are pressured on these matters,” he said.
“They do not want issues like remigration and ethnic replacement on the political agenda.”
In Italy, he claims the movement maintains good relations with Lega, whose prominent members have expressed solidarity, while Fratelli d’Italia’s leadership avoids the topic of remigration.
“Acknowledging it would imply admitting that their immigration policies are failing,” he said, “though the youth wing of the party is openly with us.”
Until last year, the concept of remigration was virtually unknown in Italy. But after being promoted at the Remigration Summit, it has quickly become a topic in political debates.
Recently, a group of neo-fascist associations gathered the necessary signatures to submit a proposed law on remigration to the Italian parliament.
If validated, Italy would become the first European parliament forced to debate the introduction of a national remigration law.
“We have nothing to do with those who proposed the law,” Ballarati said. “But this shows how the issue has now entered the public domain since we introduced it.”
He also claimed to have recently faced physical attacks by anti-fascist activists, while his university campus was vandalised with threatening graffiti directed at him and other activists.
“I will not be intimidated either by the trial or by the attacks,” he said.
The hearing is scheduled for April 16.
