Bologna, August 17, 2026 – Investigations continue into the authors of hate messages and death threats posted online against the mayor of Bologna, Matteo Lepore. It is learned that among the suspects, who number about twenty, there is also a minor.
The mayor had been the target of numerous threats after the clashes that occurred last July 20 following a demonstration for Abderrahim Fakir, the 42-year-old who died the day before in Pilastro after being pinned to the ground by two police officers.
Who are the suspects
The investigation, assigned to Bologna deputy prosecutor Andrea De Feis, currently has 18 people under investigation for aggravated threats using computer methods. The minor, however, will be prosecuted by the juvenile court of the Emilia capital.
But who are the suspects? From what has emerged so far, they appear to be ordinary citizens (mostly from Bologna), students, but also residents and shopkeepers of the historic center who were affected by the violent clashes between protesters and police.
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Pazzaglia is also involved
Among the suspects is also entrepreneur Paolo Pazzaglia, caught up in the investigation for phrases like this: “If you don’t leave, we will come get you and throw you down a well.” The former owner of the Capannina nightclub, reached by Carlino while on vacation on a boat, said he had not yet received any notification. “And if I do get anything, I will send it back to the sender.” Then he said addressing the mayor: “If there is something bothering him, let him inform my lawyers.”
There are hundreds of comments and emails
Under the investigators’ scrutiny are hundreds of comments posted on the mayor’s social media and also messages sent to Lepore’s email inbox, for which he had filed a complaint and was also assigned a security detail. Some of the threats also concerned the mayor’s family members, and in one case the home address (although not the current one) of Lepore himself was published.
There may be further suspects
At the moment, however, there is no evidence to suggest a coordinated action by the suspects. The Digos investigations are ongoing and could lead to further entries in the register of suspects, while Lepore’s lawyer, Tommaso Guerini, is expected to file a new defamation complaint in the coming days.
