Tech mogul and billionaire Elon Musk is not new to taking an interest in foreign policies, especially when they involve causes he is close to.
This time, however, the businessman has commented on a crime case that has gripped Italy over the last few days, leaving politicians and citizens alike in a state of quiet bewilderment.
On Sunday, July 19, Musk attacked the Italian judiciary by posting a short yet stinging message on X.
The wealthiest man in the world rushed to the defence of Mario Roggero, an Italian jeweller who, after having shot and killed two robbers who tried to steal from his shop, was condemned to 14 years and nine months in jail.
“This is madness!” Musk wrote.
“The judge and the prosecutor in this case are the ones who deserve this conviction.”
The case
Back in April 2021, jeweller Mario Roggero saw three robbers enter his shop in Grinzane Cavour, near Turin.
The three tried to steal some merchandise and then fled the scene.
The shop owner ran after them, shooting at them from behind with a gun he lawfully owned.
Because Roggero shot at the robbers while they were already running away, self-defence was never contemplated.
Two robbers died, while the third man was hurt but survived.
It was later confirmed that the three only brought with them a knife and a fake gun.
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Outcry for Roggero
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also spoke in support of the jeweller, claiming that his punishment was “disproportionate.”
Deputy PM and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini also supported Roggero and have visited him twice at Milan’s Bollate prison.
In the last five years, Ruggero’s situation has been at the very centre of a heated conflict in Italian politics.
The case has often been used as an example of personal freedom, with the right-adjacent parties supporting the shop owner in defending his person and property.
Salvini’s party, Lega, even proposed a new law to help in such cases.
The new law would allow people who react to an armed attack not to be punished, as it would represent a performance of their right to self-defence.
“If this law were to be approved, no self-defence would exist anymore, there would just be a right to revenge,” ex-Italian PM and Movimento 5 Stelle’s leader Giuseppe Conte said.
“It would look like the Far West.”
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