Italian Police Arrest Four Suspects in Bomb Attack Targeting Investigative Journalist Sigfrido Ranucci

Italian police have arrested four suspects—Pellegrino D'Avino, Marika De Filippi, Saverio Mutone, and Antonio Passariello—for an October 2025 bomb attack targeting investigative journalist Sigfrido Ranucci. Investigators reveal the suspects carried out the contract bombing using mafia-style methods under orders from unidentified masterminds. Ranucci, a prominent television host under police protection since 2021, welcomed the arrests as press unions express solidarity amid concerns over Italy's declining press freedom.

Bomb attack on Ranucci

• ▪An explosive device detonated beneath the car of investigative journalist Sigfrido Ranucci outside Sigfrido Ranucci's home in Pomezia, near Rome, on October 16, 2025
• ▪The bomb blast destroyed two cars belonging to Sigfrido Ranucci and caused no injuries, though Sigfrido Ranucci's daughter had walked by the area 30 minutes prior to the explosion

Four suspects arrested

• ▪Italian police arrested four suspects near Naples on June 30, 2026, in connection with the October 2025 bomb attack targeting investigative journalist Sigfrido Ranucci
• ▪The four suspects are accused of possessing, carrying, and using explosive devices in a public place, making threats, and causing damage, with aggravating circumstances of acting in a group and using mafia-style methods
• ▪The four arrested suspects are Pellegrino D'Avino, Marika De Filippi, Saverio Mutone, and Antonio Passariello, with three placed in pre-trial detention and Marika De Filippi placed under house arrest

Mafia-style contract operation

• ▪Unidentified masterminds provided the alleged perpetrators with funds, dedicated phone cards, legal assistance, and plans for a potential escape abroad
• ▪The preliminary investigation judge stated the four suspects acted on contract orders from unidentified third parties in exchange for payment, and the way the device was placed does not indicate an intent to kill

Anonymous tip investigation details

• ▪An anonymous email sent on April 6, 2026, to Rome prosecutor Carlo Villani named Antonio Passariello as the attacker and claimed Antonio Passariello boasted of setting off the bomb on behalf of the Moccia clan
• ▪The preliminary investigation judge noted that no evidence has emerged at this stage to prove Antonio Passariello belongs to the Moccia clan of Afragola

Journalist union solidarity statements

• ▪The National Federation of the Italian Press expressed solidarity with Sigfrido Ranucci and declared its readiness to join any trial against the arrested suspects as a civil party
• ▪The RAI journalists' union, Usigrai, expressed satisfaction with the investigation's progress, stating the attack aimed to strike the entire world of investigative journalism and Article 21 of the Italian Constitution

Italian press freedom concerns

• ▪According to the campaign group Reporters Without Borders, Italy ranks 56th in the world for press freedom
• ▪Sigfrido Ranucci, the host of the investigative program 'Report' on the Rai 3 public TV station, has been under police protection since 2021 due to receiving numerous threats