In the northern Spanish city of Gijon, a judge has stepped in to halt the activities of Nucleo Nacional, an ultra-right movement now under investigation for alleged hate crimes and illegal association. The court has shut the group's office and frozen its online presence and bank accounts, after fourteen of its members were arrested on suspicion of stirring hatred against vulnerable people and those who hold opposing views. The move arrives as Spain approaches its general election on November 29, a moment when questions of who may speak, organise, and be feared in public life are sharply contes
Spanish Court Suspends Far-Right Group Nucleo Nacional Over Alleged Hate Crimes
Fourteen members were arrested on suspicion of inciting hatred against vulnerable groups and people with opposing ideologies.
"They won't beat us," the group said, calling the case political repression.
Mark
Why does this ruling matter beyond the arrests themselves?
Mimi
Because the court went further than detaining people. It shut the office and blocked the website, social media and bank accounts, so the group's ability to operate is suspended while the investigation continues.
Mark
And the weapons?
Mimi
Police say they seized more than 20 firearms, some unlicensed, plus large amounts of ammunition and other illegal weapons, from the Madrid headquarters and other locations.
Luke
Let me slow that down. Those are police statements. The source doesn't say anyone has been charged with weapons offences or convicted of anything.
Mimi
Fair. The 14 are suspected of inciting hatred, and the case is an investigation into alleged hate crimes and illegal association. Nothing is proven yet.
Mark
The group says it's being persecuted. How should we read that?
Luke
As a claim from an unnamed representative in a video on X. It's their account, not a finding. The court's measures, like travel bans and weekly court reporting, are the documented part.
Mimi
The timing is what gives them that opening. The election is November 29, and this came a day after the general strike.
Mark
Is there a link to the housing protests?
Luke
Only a contextual one. The October 3 arrests involved a far-right group in Madrid, but the source doesn't say it was Nucleo Nacional. We shouldn't merge the two.
Le Pouls
- A Gijon judge has suspended Nucleo Nacional, shutting its office and freezing its social media and bank accounts within days of fourteen arrests.
- Police raids on Madrid premises uncovered more than twenty firearms, some unlicensed, along with ammunition and other illegal weapons.
- Key members now face travel bans and weekly court reporting while the investigation into hate incitement and illegal association moves forward.
- The group answers with a defiant video claiming persecution and vowing that 'they won't beat us,' setting up a fight over legitimacy.
- With the general election on November 29, the case is unfolding in a tense climate shaped by housing protests and far-right confrontations.
In the northern Spanish city of Gijon, a judge has stepped in to halt the activities of Nucleo Nacional, an ultra-right movement now under investigation for alleged hate crimes and illegal association. The court has shut the group's office and frozen its online presence and bank accounts, after fourteen of its members were arrested on suspicion of stirring hatred against vulnerable people and those who hold opposing views. The move arrives as Spain approaches its general election on November 29, a moment when questions of who may speak, organise, and be feared in public life are sharply contested. It is a reminder that a democracy defends itself through its courts, even as the accused insist they are the ones being silenced.
A judge in Gijon, in northern Spain, has ruled to suspend Nucleo Nacional, an ultra-right group under investigation for alleged hate crimes and illegal association. The court ordered its headquarters closed and its social media content and bank accounts blocked. The ruling follows the arrest of fourteen members, who are suspected of inciting hatred against vulnerable groups and people with opposing ideologies.
Police searches of the group's Madrid headquarters and other sites turned up more than twenty firearms, some without licences, along with large quantities of ammunition. Several key members have been placed under precautionary measures, including a ban on leaving Spain and a weekly obligation to report to court. The group, which calls itself a political movement and seeks a "national awakening," has drawn scrutiny over its anti-immigration rhetoric, especially after thousands of migrants crossed into Ceuta in July.
In a video posted on X, a representative of the group, wearing a black shirt bearing its logo, described the movement as the victim of "persecution and political repression," adding that "they won't beat us."
The decision comes just before Spain's general election on November 29, and a day after the country's first nationwide general strike in fourteen years, driven by housing costs and wages. It also sits against a wider backdrop of far-right activity around the housing protests, including the October 3 arrests of three far-right members in Madrid. What comes next will show whether the group's claim of repression gains traction, or whether the court's findings answer it.
A judge in the northern Spanish city of Gijon ruled on Thursday to suspend the activities of Nucleo Nacional, an ultra-right group, as part of an investigation into alleged hate crimes and illegal association. The court ordered the group's office shut and its social media content and bank accounts blocked.
The ruling follows the arrest last week of 14 of the group's members. They are suspected of inciting hatred against vulnerable groups and against people with opposing ideologies. The court said key members of the organisation have already been placed under precautionary measures, including a ban on leaving Spain and a requirement to report to a court every week.
Police also searched the group's headquarters in Madrid and other locations. They said they seized more than 20 firearms, some of them unlicensed, along with large quantities of ammunition and other illegal weapons.
Nucleo Nacional describes itself as a political movement. Its website, now blocked and suspended by court order, says it seeks a "national awakening." Spanish authorities have scrutinised the group over its anti-immigration rhetoric, particularly after thousands of migrants crossed in July into Ceuta, Spain's North African enclave.
The group has pushed back. In a video posted on X, an unnamed representative wearing a black shirt with the group's logo said the movement was a victim of "persecution and political repression." The post added that "they won't beat us."
The timing places the decision in a charged moment. It comes ahead of Spain's general election on November 29, and a day after the country's first nationwide general strike in 14 years. That strike was driven by housing costs and wages, and Spain has since approved housing reforms.
The case also sits against a wider backdrop of far-right activity around the housing protests. Reuters reported last month that Spanish police arrested three members of a far-right group in Madrid on October 3, after tens of thousands marched across the country over the housing crisis. The Spanish government said far-right activists, some performing Nazi salutes, tried to reach demonstrators camped in the Puerta del Sol square.
What to watch now is how the case develops in the weeks before the November 29 vote, and whether the group's claim of political repression finds an audience or is answered by the court's findings.
Citations marquantes
The movement is a victim of persecution and political repression.— Unnamed Nucleo Nacional representative, in a video on X
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