‘Deport Them Now’ (DTN) has grabbed international headlines after encouraging its members to ‘hunt’ Moroccan immigrants in response to the brutal attack of a Spanish pensioner last week.
The far-right cell is part of a worrying trend of extremist movements sprouting up across Europe as a response to immigration.
It was revealed today that a key figure of DTN has been arrested in Spain on suspicion of inciting hatred.
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.
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.
Who are Deport Them Now?
Police sources specialising in extremist movements have told news agency EFE that Deport Them Now (DTN) is a relatively new formation.
It has been operating mostly on its since-shut down Telegram channel ‘Deport Them Now Spain’, where lists, photos, and locations of suspected illegal immigrants were shared, along with explicit calls for violence.
According to Murcia minister Mariola Guevara, one call out at 3.45pm on Sunday encouraged a coordinated ‘hunt’ on ‘July 15, 16, and 17’, alongside a Celtic cross emoji used by Nazi movements.
DTN has been active since January 2025 but is believed to have been strengthened in May this year, during a summit for far-right organisations in Gallarte, near Milan, Italy.
Hundreds of extremists gathered for what was branded as the first European summit for ‘Remigration’ – i.e. mass expulsion of migrants and immigrants.
The Remigration Summit 25 was was attended by extremist groups from across Europe, including Alternative for Germany (Germany), FvD (Netherlands), Reconquista (France), National Party (Ireland), Lega (Italy), and Chega (Portugal).
The latter two are part of Patriots.eu, the European party chaired by Santiago Abascal, the leader of Spain’s hard-right party Vox.
How does ‘Deport Them Now’ operate in Spain?
Until it was shut down, DTN had been operating in Spain on its Telegram channel Deport Them Now Spain, which was divided into 17 sub-channels, representing each region of the country (Andalucia, Catalonia, Madrid etc).
According to 20Minutos, the channels combined had more than 1,700 members, and regularly saw the mass spreading of hoaxes and xenophobic messages.
They also repeatedly shared Nazi symbols, photographs of Hitler and messages directly inciting violence.
Police said the chats revealed how members made plans to travel to designated locations to stir up trouble, such as the Murcian town of Torre Pacheco, the epicentre of the recent riots.
Actual numbers may be much smaller
Despite being followed by more than 1,700 people on Telegram, DTN’s actual footprint in Spain may be much smaller.
According to sources consulted by Spanish news agency EFE, the cell is comprised of fewer than 20 young individuals, primarily communicating through Telegram.
While the rhetoric is described as ‘serious’, the group has yet to establish significant reach or influence, the sources added.
DTN is believed to be based near Sabadell, Barcelona, approximately 40km from Mataró, where one of the leaders was arrested on hate crime charges.
The investigation continues.
Read more Spain news at the Spanish Eye.
