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Militia (Italy)

Introduction



Militia logo

Whilst their activity was largely restricted to Rome and its suburbs, Militia represents an interesting example of far-right urban activity. Even during the group’s peak, Militia took on the form of a secretive sect, as opposed to a solid group or organisation, making use of stochastic graffiti/banner actions and the distribution of ideological literature. These actions generally promoted an accelerationist stance, as well as anti-semitic conspiracy theories and holocaust denialism. 


This accelerationism was never allowed to develop into political violence, however, as the Italian police eventually arrested and imprisoned the network’s core members, including its founder and infamous neo-nazi Maurizio Boccacci, in January 2015. However, this lack of violent action was not due to a lack of intent. During raids on a martial arts gym Militia had been using as a base of operations, numerous weapons were found. 


History & Foundations


Now around 68 years old, Maurizio Boccaci, the group's founder, had a long career of right-wing extremism before founding Militia in 2008 (Luigi, 2008). A resident of Albano Laziale, Maurizio primarily gained his infamy in Rome, 1984, following his formation of the far-right "Western Political Movement" (Viviano, 2011). Whilst this group, and many of Boccaci's previous projects, were eventually disbanded following pressures from law enforcement (Viviano, 2011), extensive investigations into Boccaci never seemed to be able to make charges stick until his involvement in Militia (Fabio, 2010). 


Militia's initial activity began in 2008, opening with an extended campaign of banners and graffiti targeting Italian politicians (Luigi, 2008). These acts of vandalism noted the group's particular disdain for Lamberto Gianni due to his support of Israel, with slogans commonly taking on an antisemitic nature. 


This strategy of sustained campaigns of harassment continued into 2009. This time targeting Roman Jewish communities, Militia engaged in acts of vandalism and harassment regularly up until 2011 (Viviano, 2011). Throughout this period, these attacks seemed to increase in frequency and intensity, leading to a Police raid on a Primo Carnera gym in the Roman Vigne Nuove district. This gym had been used by Militia as a base of operations, with the raid finding machetes, baseball bats, graffiti and postering supplies, banners, extreme right literature, computer equipment and an Israeli uniform (Fabio, 2010).  


Despite this pushback from law enforcement, Militia continued its harassment of the Jewish community. These actions drew further attention from law enforcement, and on December 14th, 2011, members of Militia were arrested for terror/race crime offences, primarily the attempted dissemination of these ideas, including the group's leader, Boccaci (Viviano, 2011). In total, five members were arrested, with 11 others being investigated, including a 15-year-old (Ghosh, 2011). Those who were not arrested were still subject to a search of their residence (Redazione Online, 2025). The offences levelled against Militia included the plotting of several terror attacks against Rome's Jewish community president Riccardo Pacifici, the city's mayor Gianni Alemanno, Chamber of Deputies Gianfranco Fini, and the Italian president (Gruber, 2011). The group had also made threats against George Bush (Ghosh, 2011). 


These raids came shortly after a far-right supporter committed a mass killing in the city of Florence (Ghosh, 2011). It is unclear if the two events were linked; however, a key reason for Militia's arrest was due to the group's inherently accelerationist objective of fomenting a revolutionary war, and the group's efforts to spread this ideology (Ghosh, 2011). 


This string of arrests seems to have largely neutered Militia's activities. The group gained media attention again in August 2014 after it carried out a large-scale postering campaign (Oster, 2015). Similar to their initial activity, the campaign took on a largely anti-semitic form, encouraging the boycotting of Jewish-owned businesses throughout Rome. 


Militia's final blow seems to have come on January 15th 2015, following the sentencing of six of its members, including its founder Boccacci, who were imprisoned for their anti-semitic/racist activities (Oster, 2015). Members were also charged with crimes relating to attempts to reconstitute the Italian Fascist party. 


Whilst possibly unrelated, in November 2019, Italian authorities raided a network of neo-Nazis who were utilising a closed group chat titled "Miltia" (AFP, 2019). Raids on 19 suspects linked to the group recovered weapons, flags, and far-right literature, and evidence that the group had been working alongside other violent neo-Nazi groups such as Combat 18 and New Social Order (AFP, 2019). 


Objectives & Ideology


Militia primarily ascribes to a neo-Nazi/white supremacist ideology, with the group regularly pushing the idea of racial purity/supremacy (Redazione Online, 2025). During acts of vandalism, Militia regularly made use of nazi symbology, with Boccacci openly stating that he admired the actions of Adolf Hitler (Viviano, 2011). 


Ironically, Militia seems to also hold holocaust denialist attitudes. A banner used during the group's 2008 harassment actions read: "The Holocaust, the biggest lie in history" (Luigi, 2008). Conversely, as is typically seen in fascist ideology due to an inherent need for the enemy to be viewed as both pathetically weak and an existential threat, Boccacci also sees the Jewish population as an enemy of the interests of the white race due to their "spoiling" of the plans of Hitler (Viviano, 2011). 


To achieve the objectives of a racially pure/white population free of jews, Militia took on an accelerationist/violent position. In the eyes of Militia, such a state can only be achieved through violent revolution and the collapse of modern society/the current order (Gruber, 2011). Because of this violent worldview, Militia has very little time for conventional political engagement, instead pushing an extreme and violent solution to what it deems the problem of immigration and race mixing (Rusi.org, 2025). In one interview, Boccacci even described himself as an


"uncompromising fascist soldier."

Military/Political Abilities


Whilst Boccacci has been a part of the far-right for decades, he is seemingly more dedicated to his ideology than to his alliances or political power. For example, despite Rome's (at the time) mayor, Gianni Alemanno, and Chamber of Deputies, Gianfranco Fini, having roots in neo-fascist movements, their shift towards support for Israel warranted attack from Militia between 2008 and 2011 (Viviano, 2011). 


Despite this, at times restricting adherence to ideological purity, Boccacci's extended career in the far right allowed for the exploitation of a range of connections to gather support. According to police investigations, the gym used by Militia as a base of operations played host to members from numerous Italian regions (Lombardi, Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Lazio) (Fabio, 2010). Considering Militia's small operational area, this widespread membership, including the group's considerable membership size of around 100 activists (Rusi.org, 2025), led to a notable output of activity during the group's short existence. 


Approach to Resistance


Militia's primary activity consisted of graffiti/vandalism and the use of banners. These banners were made extensive use of during the group's campaigns against Gianni Alemanno's support of Israel (Viviano, 2011). These acts of vandalism weren't just an attack on physical structures, but were also often used to spread Militia's violent and racist ideology through various slogans related to immigration, the holocaust, and minority communities (Luigi, 2008). 


The group's ideology was also spread through the dissemination of the bi-monthly magazine titled "Insurrection" (Redazione Online, 2025). This magazine promoted violent, insurrectionary, and accelerationist ideas and actions. Whilst not exclusively circulated amongst Militia members, "Insurrection" was identified during raids by law enforcement as a key radicalising component amongst the group's members (Redazione Online, 2025). 


Whilst no violence has been openly attributed to Militia, the group clearly made preparations/plans for such activities. Evidence of such preparation is clear even outside of Militia's violent rhetoric. From the group's stockpile of weapons found in its operations base (Fabio, 2010) to the planned bomb attack against Riccardo Pacifici (the head of Rome's Jewish community) (Ghosh, 2011), Militia showed intentions of materialising its objective of violent resistance.  Interestingly, during the group's use of banners in 2008, Militia did disavow one banner which referred to the massacre of immigrants in Castelvolturno in September 2007 (Luigi, 2008). However, it is unclear whether this disavowal was due to a genuine disinterest in the celebration of such events or due to the exceptionally bad publicity that such celebrations would bring the group. 


International Relations & Alliances


Due to Miltia's small membership and operational area (largely restricted to Rome and its bordering neighbourhoods), the group seemed to operate largely independently from other far-right movements. Despite this, it is fair to assume that Boccacci's longstanding career in the far-right managed to equip him with contacts that allowed the group to sustain its membership despite its small recruitment pool (Viviano, 2011). 


A possible explanation for Militia's isolationist nature is the group's violent ideological stance. Whilst far-right groups tend to have a generally aggressive/violent stance on the issues they concern themselves with, Militia sported a particularly militant stance in comparison to other Italian right-wing groups at the time (Ghosh, 2011). This exceptionally aggressive perspective, combined with the attention from law enforcement that this perspective garnered the group, may be a component of Militia's disconnection from other organisations.  


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