An Italian counterterrorism unit has arrested a 16-year-old from the province of Bologna after uncovering what authorities describe as a rare blend of white supremacist extremism and Islamist terrorist ideology, a phenomenon security officials have dubbed “white jihad.”
The teenager was taken into custody following a police operation coordinated by prosecutors at the Juvenile Court of Bologna. Investigators allege he possessed a large collection of terrorist material, including manuals on constructing homemade firearms and explosives, and instructions for carrying out vehicle attacks.
The investigation began in autumn 2025 when officers monitoring extremist activity on the internet identified an account distributing material linked to terrorist tactics. According to police, further inquiries traced the account to a minor living in the Bologna area.
During a search of the teenager’s home, officers reportedly discovered handwritten documents featuring white supremacist symbols and imagery, alongside instructions for making a homemade bulletproof vest. He allegedly possessed a wider cache of extremist material on his mobile phone.
In a statement, police said the device contained both white supremacist propaganda and Islamist extremist texts, as well as manuals covering the manufacture of homemade weapons, the construction of a pistol, the use of aggressive chemical substances, and the assembly of explosive devices.
Investigators also found a copy of the full video from the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack. Authorities allege the teenager exchanged messages praising Brenton Tarrant, the gunman responsible for the massacre, and presenting him as a figure to emulate.
The most serious allegations concern conversations in which the suspect allegedly discussed rebuilding clandestine extremist organizations in Italy. According to investigators, the exchanges included references to homemade weapons and potential violent actions against specific groups, including magistrates and prominent journalists.
“The evidence emerging from the investigations suggests a fusion of white supremacist extremist content with jihadist propaganda, a phenomenon counterterrorism specialists call ‘white jihad,’ characterized by the convergence of seemingly distant ideologies united by the exaltation of violence as a tool for ideological affirmation,” police said.
The teenager was arrested and transferred to a juvenile reception center in Ancona. A judge subsequently validated the arrest and imposed restrictions prohibiting him from accessing the internet, using electronic devices, or obtaining material connected to terrorist or subversive ideologies for a period of two months.
