MONZA – Violent, verbally and with images, against journalists and law enforcement. He threatened to “cut the throat” of the reporter from Striscia la Notizia, persecuted Vittorio Brumotti, incited his audience to sexually abuse Valerio Staffelli’s daughter. Despite the convictions, he continued to be aggressive and violent. For this reason, he was placed under special surveillance. Today, the Anti-Crime Division of the Monza and Brianza Police Headquarters executed the special surveillance order issued by the Milan Court against the 25-year-old Monza trapper “Mr. Rizzus,” who, among other things, had threatened on social media to “cut the throat” of Vittorio Brumotti and to “celebrate” his arrival.
Retaliation and threats
He had also threatened to attack his girlfriend, waiting for the couple in the streets of Monza. This was for a 2019 report in which the television presenter denounced drug dealing in the city center. Also in 2019, the harassment against Valerio Staffelli’s family began, leading the daughter of the Striscia la Notizia reporter and the journalist himself to file several defamation and stalking lawsuits.
The proposal for the measure and the “trapper’s” baby gang
The measure was issued on the proposal of Monza’s Police Chief Marco Odorisio last June, after examining the criminal behavior of the young man, who was already the leader of a trap band, “Gang 20900” (or “Sacra Corona Ferrea”), consisting of young people from Brianza, some with criminal and police records, who, through their videos and songs, glorify criminal acts and drug use, mock law enforcement and institutions. “Mr. Rizzus,” since he was a minor, has been responsible for crimes against individuals, defamation, and stalking of his ex-girlfriend, which resulted in nine months of imprisonment. He was also involved, along with a member of his Trap group “Gang 20900,” in a robbery of a foreigner, who was hit with a belt and kicked and punched, resulting in a broken femur and a prognosis of 40 days. He was sentenced to 2 years and 4 months in prison. Despite the convictions, he continued to be depicted on social media in videos handling firearms or using drugs.
Court: he hasn’t learned from the convictions
Despite the convictions, according to the Milan Court, “Mr. Rizzus” has not changed his attitude or lifestyle in the slightest, continuing to publish videos in which he handles firearms or explicitly uses drugs, “continuing his harassing and stalking behavior, amplified by the use of social networks,” as stated in the order, “directed against people who, for various reasons, have gravitated in the Brianza area.” Among the reasons that led to the new measure, there are also the videos in which he incited his audience to commit acts of violence, mostly of a sexual nature, against Valerio Staffelli’s daughter, all while glorifying the use of drugs and expressing hatred towards law enforcement.
“These statements,” the Court continued, “have generated, in addition to a considerable number of views and shares, a further and even greater wave of insults and threats from numerous YouTube users against the young girl.” Two days before his trial for the harassment suffered by the Staffelli family, ‘Mr. Rizzus’ posted a photo on Instagram showing him with a silenced pistol, accompanied by the caption “-2 days until the trial.” In the following February, he also did a live Instagram in which he loaded a gun with ammunition and rapped, “I’m taking a gun home for those who defame me, I tie Staffelli inside a house, rape his grandmother while she watches, beat his daughter along with his mother (…) I want the heads of these judges.” Additionally, the trapper has directed countless insults towards law enforcement, even committing acts of vandalism at the police station.
The “distorted logic” of marketing oneself as a “gang boss” online
These and numerous other antisocial behaviors summarized in the investigation by the Anti-Crime Division of the Monza and Brianza Police Headquarters led the Judges of the Milan Prevention Court to conclude that “in recent years, R.S. has systematically and persistently engaged in objectively antisocial and prejudicial behavior for public safety and tranquility,” as well as “harmful to the personal sphere of individuals who had no responsibility towards him.” Under this aspect, the Court, “while partially considering the defensive arguments regarding the impact of the social context and personal experience” of ‘Mr. Rizzus’ and while “understanding that these behaviors may be partly motivated by the determination to establish himself as a leader in the practiced music genre” and even if they “could be explained by a distorted logic of self-promotion and endorsement of his character,” the Court believes that they are particularly serious due to the repercussions they have had on individuals’ private lives. Considering the artistic aspect along with incitement to commit crimes, threats, and defamatory statements, he has shown no signs of being able to control himself.
