Salvini attacks a Messina student, who responds, "He's afraid of dissent."

Dario Costa, 21, a psychology student in Florence and former class representative at the “Giuseppe La Farina” classical high school in Messina, became the protagonist of a media case after protesting against Matteo Salvini during a visit to his city to celebrate the approval by the CIPESS (Italian Committee for the Protection of the Sea) for the bridge over the Strait of Messina .

The young man was filmed protesting outside the "Grecale" club, where the League leader was meeting. The images, later edited and posted on Salvini's social media channels with ironic undertones ("Is it the heat, perhaps?"), triggered a barrage of insults and threats: "They wished me death, a heart attack, tumors, chemical castration, and even a beating," Costa complained.

The student announced that he will file a complaint with the postal police , accusing the minister of fueling a climate of hatred: "You are not a minister, but a man who has been given too much power. You are afraid of dissent," he stated in a nearly five-minute video message that has gone viral.

The affair once again raises questions about the role and responsibility of public figures in their use of social media, especially when political dissent turns into media pillorying.