Repressive operations

In February 2023, a few minutes after midnight, during a routine surveillance flight, the helicopter of the German federal police identified two comrades on railroad tracks near Berlin. Three police cars were dispatched to the location and the comrades were arrested on suspicion of attempted arson against the railway infrastructure.

On June 5, 2023, about fifteen people were raided and arrested in France, accused of participating in the December 2022 sabotage of a factory of the French industrial company Lafarge. The sabotage, which took place during the day and involved between 100 and 200 activists, caused around 6 million euros of damage.

In March 2023, a comrade was arrested and charged with a May 2022 arson attack on the headquarters of an anti-abortion group. The arson was the first in a series of attacks claimed under the name “Jane's Revenge” — a reference to the “Jane Collective”, an underground organization that facilitated access to abortion in the United States from 1969 to 1973.

In 2020, four anarchists set fire to police buildings and vehicles in the parking lot of a prosecutor's office. Soon after, they were arrested by border guards while trying to cross the Belarusian-Ukrainian border.

In 2020, Boris, an anarchist from France, was accused of sabotaging a cell tower in Besançon, Doubs, France, in March 2020, and two cell towers on Mount Poupet in the Jura Mountains, France, in April 2020. He was initially suspected when his DNA was found on a bottle cap at the foot of one of the burnt cell towers on Mount Poupet. The charges against him for the sabotage of the Besançon cell tower were later dropped for lack of evidence.

In 2020, anarchists Mónica Caballero and Francisco Solar were arrested in Chile, accused of sending two parcel bombs — to a police station and a former Minister of the Interior — in 2019, and placing explosive devices in a park in an attempt to harm cops in 2020. Both have been charged with attempted murder.

In April 2022 and October 2022, several apartments and basements, a print shop, and a library were raided by police as part of an investigation into the alleged editors of the German anarchist newspaper Zündlumpen, published from 2019 to 2021.

A series of protests and riots began in Chile in October 2019, following the announcement of an increase in the metro fare in Chile's capital, Santiago. For several months, a large amount of public infrastructure and commercial buildings were vandalized, looted or burned in Santiago and elsewhere in the country.

In 2019, three comrades were arrested while sitting on a park bench late at night in Hamburg, accused of carrying incendiary devices and planning to burn down a specific building whose address was written on a piece of paper found on them. Two of the arrested comrades had been followed by cops for several hours before their arrest.

In June 2020, house raids took place in the Bencivenga Occupato squat in Rome and other places, and seven anarchist comrades were arrested in Italy, Spain and France as part of an operation called “Bialystok”. They were accused of participating in an associazione sovversiva (criminal association) and of various minor offenses related to initiatives in solidarity with comrades accused in the Panico operation. Two of them were accused of carrying out an explosive attack on a police station in 2017 and an arson attack on cars linked to ENI (an Italian multinational oil and gas company) in 2019, respectively.

In late 2017 and early 2018, about ten anarchists and antifascists were arrested in Penza and Saint Petersburg and accused of being part of an underground organization called “Network” that was planning terrorist attacks in anticipation of the 2018 Russian presidential elections and the FIFA World Cup. Some were also accused of attempting to sell large quantities of drugs. Most of them were tortured in the early stages of their detention by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

In 2017, house raids took place in Florence and several anarchist comrades were arrested as part of an operation called “Panico”. Up to 35 comrades were charged in this operation. Some comrades were accused of carrying out an explosive attack on a fascist bookshop in 2017 and an arson attack on a police station in 2016. Other comrades were accused of various other actions.

In 2019, three anarchist comrades were arrested as part of an operation called “Prometeo”. They were accused of sending parcel bombs to prosecutors and a director of the prison administration in 2017. One of the comrades was also accused of carrying out an arson attack on an ATM in 2016.

In February 2019, 50 house raids took place, mainly in Trentino, and seven anarchist comrades were arrested as part of an operation called “Renata”. More comrades were arrested in May 2019. The arrested comrades were accused of participating in an associazione sovversiva (criminal association) and carrying out various arson and explosive attacks between 2016 and 2018, including an explosive attack on the headquarters of the right-wing political party “Lega Nord” in Treviso. Some comrades were also accused of forging documents.

In February 2019, the Asilo Occupato squat in Turin was evicted and six anarchist comrades were arrested — a seventh comrade, Carla, went on the run — as part of an operation called “Scintilla”. Some of them were accused of carrying out several arson and explosive attacks on migrant detention centers and other targets between 2015 and 2018. Some of them were accused of publishing a zine called “I cieli bruciano” (“The skies are burning”) which contained information about entities responsible for the management and maintenance of migrant detention centers.

In 2013, anarchists Mónica Caballero and Francisco Solar were arrested in Spain, accused of placing an explosive device in a church. The device exploded, causing material damages and slightly injuring one person.

In 2013, several comrades were arrested in Nea Filadelphia, a suburb of Athens. Four of them were accused of carrying out bank robberies in 2011 and 2013.

In 2008, six comrades were arrested and charged with preparation of terrorist acts, possession or manufacture of explosive or incendiary devices, and arson or attempted arson — including an attempted arson of an electrical cabinet in 2006 and an attempted arson of a police tow truck in 2007. This operation was documented by comrades in a series of zines entitled “Mauvaises intentions”.

In 2016, 32 house raids took place in different regions of Italy and several anarchist comrades were arrested as part of an operation called “Scripta Manent”. Up to 22 comrades were under investigation in this operation. They were accused of forming or participating in an associazione sovversiva con finalità di terrorismo (criminal association with the aim of terrorism), referring to attacks claimed by the Federazione Anarchica Informale (FAI, Informal Anarchist Federation) since 2003. Some of them were accused of explosive attacks carried out between 2005 and 2016. Some of them were accused of istigazione a delinquere (incitement to commit a crime) for writing in the anarchist newspaper Croce Nera Anarchica (Anarchist Black Cross) or for running radical websites.

On a night in June 2000, Jeff Luers and Craig Marshall were arrested in Oregon, United States, accused of setting fire to three trucks at a Chevrolet dealership earlier that night. Jeff Luers was later also charged with an attempted arson of trucks at a petroleum products distributor in May 2000.

In 2008, Marius Mason was arrested and charged with several acts of arson and other vandalism claimed by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) from 1999 to 2003, including a 1999 arson of an office associated with Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) research.