Italian police identify alleged creator of youth protest movement

Italian police identified the alleged creator of the "Movimento 17 ottobre" Instagram page as a 30-year-old second-generation Italian of Moroccan origin, who was taken to a Milan police station for questioning. The man, formally residing in the province of Brescia, is suspected of being behind the youth movement that organized recent protests against the high cost of living. A search is also underway at a friend's apartment in Milan's outskirts, while over 150 police searches were conducted across Lombardy and 20 other cities following last weekend's unrest. The investigation stems from a suspicious chat found on a phone belonging to a young participant in the Milan clashes. Searches also occurred in Bari over alleged plans for store assaults, where minors were found with balaclavas and fireworks. Milan and Florence have reinforced security with boarded-up shop windows and over 1,200 officers deployed ahead of planned protests.