Namely, several Italian media outlets have published a photograph showing Meloni with a leading member of the "Siena Camorra" clan, Gioacchino Amico, who allegedly had connections with politicians in the Lombardy region of Italy and beyond. The first to publish it was the Rai Report program. The photo was taken at a 2019 election event. The trial in question is identified as Hydra. It is a judicial investigation coordinated by the District Directorate for Anti-Mafia, concerning the presence and collaboration among various mafia organizations in northern Italy. The investigation stems from a probe that documented a kind of "operational alliance" between groups belonging to Cosa Nostra, 'Ndrangheta, and Camorra.
"On February 2, 2019, the entire elite of the Brothers of Italy party was present at the Marriott Hotel in Milan. The occasion was the party's first major political initiative in the north, ahead of the European elections that year," Report wrote on social media.
Giorgia Meloni responded to these claims.
Oggi la “redazione unica”, composta da Il Fatto Quotidiano, La Repubblica, Fanpage e Report, mostra una mia foto con un esponente della criminalità organizzata per sostenere la bizzarra tesi di una mia vicinanza ad ambienti malavitosi. Inoltre, questi signori fanno un… pic.twitter.com/pnqO12XFQE
She also stated that the Italian government will continue the fight against the mafia.
"My dedication to combating all forms of the mafia is crystal clear, consistent, and enduring. And what we have done in government is proof of that. While others released mafia bosses from prison under the pretext of Covid, we arrest them and keep them locked up in harsh prisons, an institution we saved from collapse. Differences. These 'information experts' don't care. Everything serves to throw mud into the fan and acts as a media slogan for party interests. There is no journalism, only politics. It doesn't matter. I am not someone who fears the wretched attacks of dishonest people," concluded Giorgia Meloni.