Leaked WhatsApp messages linked to Roberto Vannacci supporters include antisemitism, praise for Hitler and calls for force

Messages from a private WhatsApp group linked to supporters of Roberto Vannacci — the former army general who founded the new right‑wing party Futuro Nazionale — have been made public, containing violent rhetoric, anti‑Semitic slurs and praise for Adolf Hitler. The chat, which used the name "Vannacci ultima speranza" ("Vannacci, the last hope"), reportedly gathered roughly 300 participants and includes calls for "strong action." A journalist, Matteo Pucciarelli, posted about the findings on August 17, 2026.

Extremist language and calls for force

Transcripts show repeated attacks on Jews and Arabs and words that endorse violence. Participants described Jews as "beasts who worship Satan," "pedophiles, Kabbalists and cannibals," and one message read bluntly: "Arabs are shit! They must be exterminated." Another post compared Hitler's goals to those of the modern European Union, arguing that Hitler sought a united world and that today's Europe is only a monetary, banking union.

The exchange also turns to organisation and tactics. One participant wrote that the movement must be "strict" and "of a military type," while another declared: "We are under the command of the general! Therefore we wait." The Italian constitution was described as something that "must be thrown in the toilet," and a user invoked the name of Junio Valerio Borghese, the fascist naval commander associated with a failed coup attempt in 1970: "We need another Valerio Borghese," the message said. Several posts argued that winning 51 percent of votes would still not be enough and explicitly called for "strong action."

The chat's administration and membership include figures with ties to the party's local structures. Renato Maturo is named as an administrator and is identified as head of the Milan committee 421 and a former collaborator of Ignazio La Russa, president of the Italian Senate. Other participants listed in the materials include Roberto Jonghi Lavarini, a former member of Brothers of Italy known by the nickname "the Black Baron," and Luca Sforcini, founder of the party's research centre.

Futuro Nazionale's national coordinator, Massimiliano Simoni, publicly distanced the movement from the group's content. Simoni did not explicitly contest the authenticity of the chat transcripts but said the WhatsApp group is not an official party channel, violates internal rules and "does not represent the party's politics." He told journalists that the party banned free groups with more than 60 members in April and that larger groups must be structured so only administrators can post; the WhatsApp grouping of roughly 300 people therefore breaches those rules.

Roberto Vannacci, a former general now serving as a member of the European Parliament, launched Futuro Nazionale in February after Matteo Salvini left the League. The party positions itself to the right of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy and advocates so‑called "remigration" — expelling migrants and their descendants to countries of origin. According to a YouTrend poll from July, Futuro Nazionale had 7.6 percent support and was the fifth most popular option in Italy at that time, ahead of Salvini's League and approaching Forza Italia.

Photo: press material from the event