They seal off several spaces of the Congress due to a toxic gas after a PP deputy exhibited pepper spray in the hemicycle

BarcelonaThe President of the Congress, Francina Armengol, expelled PP deputy Ana Vázquez from the chamber this Wednesday after she displayed a canister of pepper spray during the government control session. Armengol called her to order twice and asked her to leave the chamber and leave the spray outside.

"I must call the deputy to order for having shown a weapon in the plenary session," stated Armengol, who defended the decision in application of the Congress regulations. Vázquez ended up leaving the chamber amidst applause from a large part of the popular bench.

Three toilets and a dining room at the Congress are sealed off

Following the incident involving Ana Vázquez in the chamber, Congress has sealed off three restrooms and a dining hall, as confirmed by ARA. Three floors of the building have been evacuated, including the kitchen area. Several workers, including cooks and waitresses, and a member of the Mauritanian delegation had to receive medical attention for symptoms consistent with poisoning.

Congress sources have reported that someone emptied a spray can with a toxic substance in this area, after a worker felt unwell upon inhaling it. There were also workers who suffered from itching. In fact, Vox requested the evacuation of its floor after some workers noticed discomfort there.

Chamber sources indicate that the gas could have concentrated in the restrooms. The affected areas remain sealed off and are awaiting checks by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). The chamber is also reviewing security cameras to try to clarify who emptied the spray. For the moment, it is not confirmed that this incident is related to the spray exhibited by the PP deputy.

According to the account of a PP worker, Vázquez handed him the canister after having emptied it on the street and asked him to wash it because there were remains on the outside. The worker explains that he washed it, dried it, and activated it twice in the men's restroom to check that no product remained. Upon doing so, a small amount of substance allegedly came out. The worker asserts that he did not notice any effect nor did he smell anything.

The Arms Regulation

Armengol's team has justified the decision with article 5.1.i of the Weapons Regulation, which includes personal defense sprays and other weapons that release gases or aerosols among prohibited objects. The same article, however, establishes an exception for sprays authorized by the Ministry of Health, which can be sold in gun shops to adults. Therefore, the regulation considers them weapons for regulatory purposes, but it does not consider all sprays illegal.

After the incident, Vázquez claimed that the canister was empty and questioned Armengol's actions. "What do you mean, Armengol, that children in Ceuta go to school with weapons? That all women carry weapons?", asked the deputy, who defended that many women carry sprays of this type to protect themselves.

The People's Party deputy has ensured that she wants to give a voice to the women and girls of Ceuta. Vázquez also announced that she will take the canister to a police station and will take measures against the presidency of the Congress. All this, in the midst of the debate on insecurity in the autonomous city.

In the PP, they maintain that Vázquez, who is a police officer, knows the operation of this type of spray and that it is in no case a weapon. According to this version, the deputy had already warned on Tuesday morning that she would bring the empty canister, which they equate to carrying a deodorant can.