Barcelona police on alert for fresh Halloween riots in Spain

Police in Barcelona are preparing for possible fresh riots on Halloween after online groups called for more violence and looting following weekend unrest that led to 130 arrests.

The warnings follow riots in Barcelona on Saturday and further disturbances on Monday in the northern city of Bilbao, where around 20 people were arrested.

More than 600 young people gathered in central Barcelona on Oct. 24 following a social media campaign promoted under the name Blocus.

At least 23 businesses were looted or vandalized, while firefighters extinguished 33 small fires, authorities said. Of those arrested, 76 were minors.

A Telegram group operating under the name Blocus BCN has since circulated messages calling for another gathering on Oct. 31, encouraging participants to wear black clothing and Halloween masks to avoid police identification.

Promotional material also cited recent protests in France as an inspiration.

Catalan regional police are investigating who organized Saturday's violence, which they believe was coordinated rather than spontaneous.

Investigators have ruled out a political or ideological motive and believe participants followed instructions from unidentified organizers, according to Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia.

STUDY IDENTIFIES NATIONWIDE NETWORK

A study published Monday by Spanish digital intelligence firm Golden Owl identified signs of Blocus activity in 18 locations across 11 Spanish regions.

The analysis traced the network's earliest known activity to Oct. 8 in Madrid.

Researchers found that organizers used TikTok and Instagram to recruit participants before directing them to private Telegram and WhatsApp groups.

The network operated through disposable accounts rather than a conventional organization, with the identities of its main operators still unknown, according to the study.

Researchers said participants identified luxury brands including Rolex, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga and Hermes as potential looting targets.

Messages also discussed bringing heavy objects to break shop windows, confronting police and preventing bystanders from recording their activities.

The study identified further calls for gatherings on Oct. 31, Nov. 2 and Nov. 30, the day after Spain's general election.

Researchers also detected messages from accounts on US social media platform X based in France, Ecuador and Uruguay encouraging attacks on immigrants following the Barcelona riots.

They warned that the messages posed a separate risk of violent confrontations but found no evidence of coordination with Blocus organizers.

RIOTS SPARK POLITICAL DISPUTE AHEAD OF ELECTION

The unrest has also fueled political accusations ahead of Spain's Nov. 29 general election.

Opposition People's Party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo accused Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government of fueling tensions.

"I'll tell you what's happening: they know they are losing, and the more they lose, the more general tension they create," Feijoo said at a campaign event Tuesday, referring to the riots.

Government spokesperson Elma Saiz rejected the accusations as "irresponsible" and urged politicians to allow investigators to establish the facts.

Sanchez on Monday described the Barcelona riots as "pure vandalism instigated on social media" and said the government would have "zero tolerance" for the violence.