Clashes with the police and 18 arrested in the anti-fascist demonstration against Núcleo Nacional

Barcelona"We have won and we have ensured that Núcleo Nacional could not hold their event." In this way, one of the members of the Anti-fascist Coordinator of Barcelona celebrated that the far-right organization had not been able to hold the rally at Plaça Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer, which the ultra-rightists had renamed with the Spanish version of the poet's name in their calls. The eighty fascists who supported the call had to settle for holding their event at the corner of Carrer Mallorca and Roger de Flor, a hundred meters away from the square. They were prevented from doing so by the three thousand anti-fascists, the majority from the pro-independence left, who managed to occupy the square after dodging various police checkpoints.

The anti-fascists, however, were unable to break the police cordon of the riot police, who were dedicated to enduring the intermittent throwing of stones, bottles, and paint cans that were being thrown at them. About twenty vans from the Mobile Brigade of the Mossos d'Esquadra separated the two gatherings. After a while of shouting and insults between the two groups, those called by the ultra group decided to leave. They did so escorted by the Mossos d'Esquadra to a parking lot where some had their cars because the majority came from the Vallès Occidental, although some also left walking.

It was just after their departure when the police charges began. The Mossos charged when the anti-fascist procession was already marching towards Passeig de Sant Joan after receiving another throwing of objects. A woman was injured by the police's pushing while they were charging against the protesters.

The anti-fascists responded with bottles, stones and firecrackers, but the anti-riot police dedicated themselves to containing the onslaughts without charging again at a moment of maximum tension with shouts from the anti-fascists of "I would be ashamed to be a policeman!".

After a while, the anti-fascists continued moving down Passeig de Sant Joan and that is where the second clash with the police occurred. The protesters chased and beat a tourist who had a tattoo that they interpreted as fascist, and the Mossos appeared on the scene again. The anti-fascists responded by throwing more objects, mostly chairs from bar terraces, until the police forced them to return to the main body of the demonstration.

A march that ended at the Arc de Triomf, where the organizers declared the event over, congratulating themselves for having ensured that Núcleo Nacional could not hold its act as planned. "Barcelona will be the tomb of fascism," they chanted just before dispersing. These protesters were unable to join the traditional Diada demonstration of the pro-independence left, which had issued two calls to action against the Núcleo Nacional event and gathered nearly 7,000 people, according to the organization, and 1,100, according to the Guàrdia Urbana.

The situation has become complicated after the call was cancelled. Around 8:30 PM, protesters burned three dumpsters between Passeig de Sant Joan and Ronda de Sant Pere, and a group that was stopped in front of the police line threw objects at the officers. After 9:00 PM, the burning of dumpsters continued in the area, and the Mossos intervened to disperse the activists. The Barcelona Fire Department also acted to extinguish the flames.

A total of 18 people, 10 of whom are minors, have been arrested for public disorder in the riots following the anti-fascist demonstration in the center of Barcelona this Friday, according to information provided by the Mossos d'Esquadra. 17 of the arrests—9 minors and 8 adults—took place in the Arc de Triomf area, while one detainee—a minor—was arrested in the Plaça de Catalunya area, according to the ACN. In parallel, 9 Mossos d'Esquadra officers were reported to have minor injuries. This Saturday, seven of those arrested were released, according to the TSJC.

In this regard, the Assembly issued a statement this Saturday to denounce the "irregular detention" of eight pro-independence minors with "excessive use of force by the Mossos" during the Diada at the anti-fascist demonstration. It also denounces vexatious comments and a lack of information provided to family members. Specifically, six hours had to pass before the parents of the minors were aware of the arrest, according to their account. Thus, the pro-independence organization maintains that the minors received comments from some officers in which they told them, in Spanish, that they would break "the fingers" of that "brat" or that with "a slap" their "silliness would end." There were also other phrases directed at the parents such as: "You could have raised them better." The ANC will study "all legal avenues in order not to leave this illegal action without a response" and provide full support to the families and those affected.

First act by the Spanish far-right for the Diada

Under the slogan "Catalanidad es hispanidad", Núcleo Nacional had called its first event for the Diada since its founding in 2024. This is the first time that a Spanish far-right organization has held an event on September 11 in Catalonia.

The neo-Nazi organization already has some militants in Catalonia and in January announced that they were inaugurating their headquarters in Catalonia. It did so shrouded in mystery because it did not communicate where the event would be until an hour and a half before the inauguration. The goal was to prevent the pro-independence left and the anarchist movement from organizing to boycott the event.

Finally, they announced that the event would be in Sentmenat, but it was not their new headquarters; instead, they rented a space in an industrial estate for children's events to present themselves publicly on Catalan soil. Hundreds of people from anarchist organizations and the pro-independence left traveled to the town in the Vallès Occidental to combat the racist ideology of this fascist group that wants to expel all immigrants and which the Ministry of the Interior has placed in its crosshairs. The counter-demonstration ended with police charges against the anti-fascists, who tried to break through the police barrier, as they have timidly attempted today.