POLICE have arrested 11 leaders of a NeoNazi group who allegedly called for their thousands of followers to arm themselves and overthrow the government.
During eight searches conducted in Malaga and Roquetas de Mar (Almeria), Guardia Civil officers seized a significant cache of weapons, including 10 firearms, over 9,000 cartridges, explosive precursors, 34 bottles of sulfuric acid, and numerous prohibited weapons such as brass knuckles, knives and defense sprays. Additionally, propaganda materials promoting neo-Nazi ideology were discovered.
In the ongoing investigation 11 others are being investigated, with the operation spanning Almeria, Alicante, Bizkaia, Castellon, Jaen, La Rioja, Madrid, Malaga, Navarra, Pontevedra, Segovia, Seville, Teruel, Toledo, Valencia, and Zaragoza.
The people so far arrested are accused of various offenses including illicit association, insults to state institutions, assault, illegal possession of weapons and promotion of hatred, discrimination, and violence against different groups.
The investigation, which started in November 2021, discovered that one of the leaders was posting online videos filled with hate speech directed at various groups, notably migrants, women, and the LGTBI community.
The man, who has a substantial online following of 2,800, also called for the creation of an ‘army’ to overthrow the established regime and implement their extremist ideology.
Several followers responded by forming a self-proclaimed ‘military orde’ with leaders assuming titles such as ‘captain general’, ‘commander,’ and ‘territorial captains’ overseeing operations at the provincial level
The organization held both physical and virtual meetings, with a designated ‘headquarters’ in Malaga province.
The arrested leaders are alleged to have given advice to their followers on how to get weapons, with some obtaining licences for rifles, shotguns and pistols, while others acquired blank-firing weapons that could be easily converted to lethal weapons.
The operation is being led by the Delegated Hate Prosecutor’s Office of Malaga and Investigative Court No. 4 of Fuengirola.
Police have not revealed if this operation is linked to one which saw arrests across Spain in October of neoNazis linked to the UK’s notorious hate group Combat 18.
