Far-right European leaders meet in Italy to support League Party leader

PONTIDA, ITALY - OCT. 6, 2024: Far-right European figures gathered in Italy on Sunday to support Matteo Salvini, who is facing a possible six-year prison sentence for blocking a migrant vessel from docking at an Italian port in 2019. Salvini, chief of the far-right League Party and Italy’s deputy premier, hosted the gathering, with guests including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders, Portuguese Chega leader Andre Ventura, and Jose Antonio Fuster of Spain’s Vox party. Speaking at the event, Orban hailed Salvini as a “hero” for safeguarding Italy’s borders against unlawful migration, adding that the legal troubles Salvini is facing are a “disgrace.” Ventura echoed Orban, branding the legal actions against Salvini "persecution,” adding: "We need more Salvinis across Europe.” Salvini, addressing supporters, said: “They can incarcerate a person for defending national borders, but they can’t imprison an entire nation.” In 2019, Salvini, who was then serving as interior minister, was accused of kidnapping rescued migrants by forbidding the ship they were on from docking at the port of Augusta on the island of Sicily. (Footage by Michele Luigi Edoardo Novaga /Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)