Police Evict 400 Residents From Rome Social Center

Police evicted approximately 400 residents from Spin Time Labs, a social assistance and housing center in Rome's Esquilino district, following a minor fire on July 29. The building, which grassroots groups had occupied since 2013, was locked and placed under judicial seizure orders.

More than 200 displaced individuals, including children and elderly people, are currently camping in tents during an extreme heatwave. The crisis intensified after the private owner of the property rejected an offer from the Rome council to purchase the building. Mayor Roberto Gualtieri characterized the owner's refusal as an "irrevocable no."

The eviction is part of a broader crackdown on squatted buildings by the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which views such sites as centers of criminality. Critics have condemned the move as a double standard, pointing out that the neofascist group CasaPound has occupied a state-owned building in the same neighborhood for over two decades without facing similar enforcement actions.