the two leaders of the Venetian Most Serene Government (Veneto Serenissimo Governo), Luigi Faccia and Bepin Segato, who did not take part to the action itself, were all jailed, tried and sentenced to prison.Francesco Jori, Dalla Łiga alla Lega. Storia, movimenti, protagonisti, Marsilio, Venice 2009, pp. 54, 105–111 The effort, which was more symbolic than anything else, was criticised by Umberto Bossi and Roberto Maroni, leaders of Lega Nord, at that time proponents of the independence of Padania, while it was praised by Gianfranco Miglio, a former senator of the League who was then elected as an independent for the centre-right Pole of Freedoms. The Serenissimi soon became a sort of "heroes" for many Venetists and the "tank", the improvised armoured vehicle with which they reached Piazza San Marco on that night is usually an exhibit at the yearly Festa dei Veneti and at other rallies of that kind, also outside Veneto. Segato was a candidate of Liga Veneta Repubblica in the 2001 general election and came short of election to the Italian Senate, having received 9.8% of the vote in the constituency of Schio. Representatives of most political parties in Veneto, including centre-left figures, defended the Serenissimi: Claudio Rizzato of the Democrats of the Left praised the "noble ideals" of the group, while Massimo Cacciari, the Democratic mayor of Venice, and Gianfranco Bettin, a Green former deputy mayor of Venice, campaigned for the pardon to those in jail, along with Liga Veneta and the regional section of Forza Italia. Some of them were not embarrassed in taking part to a rally, the Festa dei Veneti, where the tanko was on exhibit. More recently also Lega Nord founder Umberto Bossi and Roberto Calderoli, praised them and another leghista, Roberto Castelli, as minister of Justice in 2003, proposed a pardon for Faccia, who refused it. The MLNV and the "Venetian Police" In November 2009 some members of the Venetian National Liberation Movement, who had proclaimed themselves "National Liberation Movement of the Venetian People", were prosecuted with the charge of having built a paramilitary organisation. The Italian police seized arms and uniforms of the so-called Polisia Veneta (Venetian Police) led by Sergio Bortotto in the headquarters of the movement in Treviso. According to the police, the group had planned an aggression to Luca Zaia, a leading member of Liga Veneta–Lega Nord, during the Festa dei Veneti of 2009, because he would have