This archive report was first published on 29 June 2020.
Published on June 29, 2020, Italian far-right leader Matteo Salvini faced a hostile crowd in Mondragone, Italy, where tensions had been rising between residents and foreign workers.
Salvini, who was visiting the area to address the situation, arrived an hour later than scheduled and was met with a crowd of people shouting insults and heckling him.
"Salvini is worse than the Covid," some shouted, with others calling him a "jackal" or a "clown" and telling him to leave.
Salvini, wearing a face mask in the colours of the Italian flag, tried to continue his speech from behind a police line but was forced to dodge eggs and water thrown from the crowd.
He later denounced what he said were agitators who had come in from outside, saying, "We have to guarantee the rights of Italians, and expel foreigners without papers," in brief comments to television crews at the scene.
Salvini's visit came after a week-long lockdown in the area due to a coronavirus outbreak among foreign workers, and a protest march by the workers that led to scuffles with local people.
