A key figure of the far-right group Deport Them Now (DTN) has been arrested in Spain on suspicion of inciting hatred, it emerged tonight.
The Guardia Civil only gave the suspect’s initials as C.L.F, adding that he was cuffed in Mataro, Barcelona, earlier this week during a raid of a property on Via Europa.
READ MORE: What is ‘Deport Them Now’? The ‘Nazi’ cell accused of stoking racial tensions in Spain
It comes after DTN spread a message on social media asking people to join a ‘hunt’ of North African residents in the small town of Torre Pacheco, Murcia.
The post, laced with inflammatory rhetoric, called on supporters – including football ultras, Christian groups, and local residents – to ‘patrol’ the town.
The call out was sparked by the brutal assault of local Spaniard Domingo, 68, last Wednesday.
The pensioner was allegedly attacked by three Moroccan men while out for an early morning walk.
The three suspects have since been arrested – but not before their attack sparked four consecutive nights of riots, with more trouble feared this week.
In response to the alleged hateful social media posting in the days afterwards, officers searched the DTN leader’s home in Mataró, seizing two computers for forensic analysis.
The group’s Telegram channel, which was used to circulate the statement, has since been taken offline.
The investigation is being led by Investigative Court No. 4 in San Javier (Murcia) and the regional Prosecutor’s Office for Hate Crimes.
This is not the group’s first activity in Mataró. In May, members of Deport Them Now were seen at a Vox-led demonstration in the Cerdanyola neighbourhood, where anti-immigration slogans were chanted.
The same area was the site of unrest in April, during which demonstrators used the term ‘remigration’ – a slogan popular among far-right movements in Europe.
Read more Spain news at the Spanish Eye.
