Italy prosecutors probe Placebo frontman for calling Premier Meloni ‘fascist’

ROME

Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into the leader of the British band Placebo, Brian Molko, after the singer attacked far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a concert near Turin, local media reported on Wednesday.

Molko was performing at the Sonic Park music festival when he started shouting in Italian from the stage addressing his public and calling Meloni a “racist” and “fascist.”

Following the concert, local authorities reported him to prosecutors, Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera reported.

Molko had previously asked his audience to refrain from using cell phones to concentrate on the music, but some videos of the incident appeared on social media.

According to Italian media, prosecutors in Turin have officially opened an investigation into the case for alleged “contempt of the institutions.”

Meloni heads Italy’s most conservative government since World War II and leads the Brothers of Italy party, which has its roots in a post-war, neo-fascist group known as Movimento Sociale Italiano.

Italy’s criminal code punishes with a fine up to €5,000 anyone who publicly defames the Italian Republic, including government and parliament’s officials.