Venice internet celebrity hits on street, lawmakers and activists injured, police intervene
On the afternoon of September 13, 2026, a group of internet celebrities physically assaulted people at San Botolo Square in Venice. The activists who were hit were local Green Party and Left Alliance (Avs) and Morion Community Center (Morion) activists. The police have confirmed the identities of most of the internet celebrities in this group.
The police department may impose city bans (Daspo urbano) and eviction orders (fogli di via) on those involved in the case, and both administrative and criminal penalties are being evaluated. Whether to prosecute or not depends on whether the victim files a lawsuit. Six victims of this conflict were injured and hospitalized. After examination, the hospital stated that they had varying degrees of bruising and needed to rest for a few days.
The Venice police and the Special Operations Bureau (Digos) are reviewing surveillance footage in the city, focusing on the movements of 32 year old Nigerian internet celebrity "JollyTime" (real name Ambrose Omo Irogho) and Dutch internet celebrity "Dutch Travel Maniac" (real name Tom van den Heuvel).
This assault incident is another escalation after the Bologna conflict. These internet celebrities claim to be here to 'address the deterioration of public security' and have a right-wing stance. Last Thursday, they were just driven away by local residents in the Bologna Bologna neighborhood, and unexpectedly had another fight in Venice yesterday. Among the six Green Party and Left Alliance members who were sent to the hospital, there was also local community councilor Giovanni Fassioli.
How did the conflict occur? It is reported that several protesters from the Green Party and the Left Alliance recognized this group of internet celebrities on the street, and the two sides immediately started arguing. The protesters called these right-wing internet celebrities "fascists". Then, Dutch internet celebrity Tom van den Heuvel suddenly rushed forward and approached a young man, and the two faced each other fiercely. Later, the scene turned into a group beating amidst shouting and protests. On site online video shows that this group of foreign internet celebrities punched, kicked, pushed, and fought against the activists, and some even sprayed chili water on the spot. At present, in the leaked videos and photos, it has not been found that another internet celebrity, Ambrose Omo Irogho, was directly involved in the beating process that occurred in Campo San Bortolomio Square in Rialto.
