Police deploy tear gas and water cannons as Winter Olympic protests over ICE and environmental concerns become violent

Italian police had to break out the heavy equipment, firing tear gas and a water cannon at dozens of demonstrators who were trying to access a highway near a Winter Olympics venue in Milan on Saturday. The brief, violent skirmish flared up after a massive, mostly peaceful protest had already dispersed, leaving police to deal with a smaller group of aggressive individuals. Six people were arrested following the clashes.

This tense confrontation came at the end of a huge march by thousands of people who were protesting two main issues: the environmental impact of the Games and the presence of ICE agents in Italy. Police estimated that 10,000 people participated in the larger demonstration, carrying homemade signs that read things like “Infernal Olympics” and “Get out of the Games: Genocide States, Fascist Police and Polluting Sponsors.” 

You can totally understand why people are upset about the environmental side of things. AP News reported that protesters carried cardboard cutouts to represent all the trees that had to be chopped to build a new bobsled run in Cortina. Protester Guido Maffioli also raised a great point about the financial side, saying he was concerned that the private entity organizing the Games would eventually pass on debt to Italian taxpayers.

Then there is the growing Anti-Trump Administration sentiment

The other major point of contention was the security detail assigned to US Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Milan as head of the American delegation. The US sent agents from Homeland Security Investigations, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit that focuses on cross-border crimes. While the HSI unit is different from the unit running the Immigration operations in the US, people were still clearly unhappy. 

The peaceful demonstration featured a truck blasting music, including one profanity-laced anti-ICE anthem. Before this, in a clear showcase of public sentiment, Vance was booed at the opening ceremony. This follows the weeks of demonstrations taking place across the US in response to the violence in Minnesota. Even American Olympians came out to make their voices heard before the Olympics. 

The Italian government was furious about the anti-Olympics movement. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni went straight to social media to condemn the protesters, flat-out calling the demonstrators “enemies of Italy.” She was visibly frustrated that these images of firecrackers and smoke bombs were being shown globally. Meloni’s anger wasn’t just about the Milan street fight, either. 

This whole anti-Olympics situation is being tied to shocking acts of sabotage to Public transport infrastructure, which happened hours after the Games officially launched. Despite the chaos in Milan, there was no indication that the protests or resulting road closures interfered with the athletes’ transfers to their events. However, the heavy police presence and the arrests certainly cast a shadow over the start of the Games.