A minor Blocus agitator is arrested in Bellmunt d'Urgell

Barcelona / VicThe Mossos d'Esquadra arrested a 16-year-old minor this Thursday afternoon in Bellmunt d'Urgell as one of the Blocus agitators. The police arrested him as the alleged perpetrator of the crimes of conspiracy to commit public disorder and incitement to commit damage and looting in the city of Lleida, in a call on social media for Saturday. According to police sources, investigators from the General Information Commissariat located him during inspection tasks of communication channels on instant messaging applications, created at the beginning of the week under the name "Blocus Lleida". This minor was the creator and administrator of these groups.

Specifically, the detainee had created groups on different social networks and messaging applications to disseminate content to incite the commission of acts of vandalism, looting of shops, and attacks on law enforcement forces. In these groups, it was planned how the looting should be carried out and what type of business to assault; advice was given on how to dress to avoid being identified, and it was even encouraged to use violence (including devices) against the police.

This arrest adds to the one on Wednesday morning by the National Police in Valencia. In this case, a 17-year-old youth was arrested as the alleged creator of the Blocus channels that incited the looting of shops in the capital of the Valencian Community, but themodus operandi was the same as that of the youth arrested in Lleida: the minor had created groups in two instant messaging applications to mobilize people for Saturday. One of the channels reached over 400 users and the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office has decreed the precautionary internment of the boy in a juvenile center. Both communication channels have already been closed.

Days of bewilderment

The last few days have been ones of bewilderment for police, city councils, and merchants in various Catalan cities. The latest call for protests in the style of Blocus in various parts of the territory where nobody shows up was experienced this Thursday in Vic, but at this moment the most serious threat continues to be that of the night of the Castanyada in Barcelona. The Mossos d'Esquadra have already admitted that they are worried –in fact, it is one of the few calls they consider will be real–, because not only are there TikTok accounts spreading posters with the call, but also Telegram groups –two have already been shut down– with hundreds of people inside.

This Thursday, Barcelona City Council has also demonstrated that it is not, right now, a minor issue: an extraordinary security board meeting was held that mobilized the top brass of the council, the Department of the Interior, and the judiciary. It was attended by the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni; the Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon; the delegate of the Spanish government, José Crespín, and the president of the Barcelona Court of Instance, Cristina Ferrando, as well as representatives of the Mossos, the Guàrdia Urbana, the Civil Guard, the National Police, and the Prosecutor's Office. The objective was to prepare for the new call.

In the meeting, they reviewed what went wrong last Saturday and what will change next Saturday, say sources consulted by ARA. Also, according to a statement from the city council, the "absolute commitment to preserve coexistence and public order" has been reaffirmed, and a message of "tranquility" has been sent to the population. It will be a "maximum" operation. However, if they try to repeat the looting and disturbances, the authorities warn that they will act "with maximum firmness." "The various public powers have reiterated that they will be implacable with all those who cause destruction," states the city council, which insists that responsibilities will be demanded from the legal guardians of the young people if those involved are minors.

According to police sources, the plan is to saturate the city center with public order officers, especially the Plaça Catalunya area, where the main gathering is expected. A large deployment of plainclothes officers is also planned, who will monitor more discreetly and identify as many protesters as possible. One of the difficulties last Saturday, sources from the force admit, is that the young people split into small groups and scattered through various businesses. All this on a Saturday afternoon in Barcelona, with many pedestrians, which made their pursuit difficult. In addition, duty courts and the Public Prosecutor's Office will be reinforced in view of possible situations like last Saturday's, with dozens of detainees – the majority minors – who must be brought before a judge.

Morning of uncertainty in Vic

This Thursday it was Vic's turn. The capital of Osona experienced an uncertain morning, with some shutters down and about a dozen anti-riot vans of the Mossos scattered around the Plaça Major and its surroundings. A new anonymous call for Blocus had circulated through social media, which had also reached neighborhood and merchant groups. It suggested that it would be a protest similar to the one that caused riots in Barcelona last Saturday, as it made an explicit call to "loot" shops.

In the end, there were no incidents, as confirmed by the Mossos, but given the threat, some shops remained closed and young people were identified in the city center. An anti-fascist student demonstration announced days ago was also affected, which, instead of the 1,500 young people on strike it expected to gather, only brought together about a hundred.

"We have been labeled vandals," laments Arola Mas, one of the students at the University of Vic who promoted the anti-fascist demonstration within the framework of the Catalan Anti-Fascist Force platform. She assures that they have nothing to do with Blocus: they want to denounce the students' lack of future prospects "peacefully." However, the counter-programming caused "false rumors" to begin circulating that linked the youths from Vic with those involved in the unrest in Barcelona. In fact, centers like the Vic Institute did not open until the student protest arrived in front of the center and the faculty saw the "good intentions" of the students on strike, explains the deputy general director, Anna Mesalles.

On the other hand, commercial life in the city center has maintained a certain normality, but with the alert activated. The most threatened business was the Pull&Bear in Plaça de Santa Clara, as the Blocus poster pointed to them as a target to loot. Jose, the manager of the clothing chain, explains that they coordinated with the Mossos d'Esquadra to protect them with special attention. By mid-morning, they had two riot police officers. In addition, the workers started their workday earlier to board up the entrances. Finally, they allowed customers in an hour later than usual, at 11 a.m., surrounded by agents and on high alert.

But there are other shops that simply have not opened. "The Mossos told me that they could not guarantee our safety 100%," explains the owner of the Insígnia shop, which sells branded youth clothing, one of the products that was most at risk of being stolen. She has boarded up her premises with a piece of sheet metal that covers the entire window and attracts the gaze of the neighbors, surprised by its bright blue color, which breaks the usual commercial landscape of the square. "I prefer to be calm," says this woman, who had never found herself in this situation before but hopes to return to activity this very afternoon. Other businesses such as jewelry stores, another of the businesses most raided on Saturday in Barcelona, have also remained closed.

In contrast, clothing businesses like Uissos Company have taken the plunge. Its manager, Laura Clot, trusts in the police deployment and acknowledges that she was not very frightened by the Blocus call, because she only sells women's clothing and believes that it would not be the target of looting. The figures for those arrested in Barcelona support her hypothesis: 95% are boys. However, Clot assures that she will keep her eyes wide open.

With this episode of tension, Vic joins the Catalan cities where there have been phantom Blocus calls promoted through social networks. As already happened on Sunday in Granollers and Girona and on Monday in Mataró, the police deployment has been met with zero following of the supposed protest. Now Barcelona remains pending another call for this Saturday, coinciding with the Castanyada, to which more credibility is given.