Spanish judge orders arrest of right-wing activist Vito Quiles after months of legal clashes
A Madrid judge issued an arrest warrant for right-wing activist Vito Quiles on Wednesday after he missed multiple court summons. Police searched his workplace but did not find him.
A Spanish judge has ordered the arrest of Vito Quiles, a right-wing activist and online agitator, after he repeatedly failed to appear at court hearings. The ruling on Wednesday, 1 July 2026, came after months of accumulated legal proceedings and missed judicial notifications.
Arrest warrant and police search
Police officers went to the Madrid headquarters of EdaTV, the YouTube channel where Quiles works, to execute the warrant. He was not there at the time. Quiles himself announced the move on social media, stating he would present himself at a police station the following day.
A judge has ordered my arrest after a massive denunciation campaign by Sánchez's circle following my encounter with Begoña Gómez. The Government uses justice to persecute its rivals without reason, but then they play victim when their corruption is judged. Not one step back.
His lawyer, Juan Gonzalo Ospina, criticised the procedure, saying there were less aggressive ways to notify Quiles.
It's a disproportionate measure. They could have notified him or his representative, or gone to his private home, not the company.
The open cases against Quiles
The activist faces at least five criminal proceedings. They include a hate crime charge from 2024, when he allegedly targeted a disabled person who was protesting against Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso. Prosecutors are seeking a two-year prison sentence and a five-year ban on practising journalism.
Another case involves revealing secrets and harassment of Beatriz Corredor, president of Red Eléctrica Española. Shortly after the 28 April 2025 nationwide blackout, Quiles published Corredor's home address and photographs of her building on social media. He appeared before the investigating court in that case on 7 April 2026.
He is also charged with slander and defamation against Rubén Sánchez, secretary-general of the consumer organisation Facua. Two further complaints, one from Begoña Gómez, wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and another from political analyst Sarah Santaolalla, were provisionally archived earlier this year.
Clashes with institutions
Beyond the criminal docket, Quiles has repeatedly clashed with institutions. In May, the Congress of Deputies withdrew his press accreditation for three months. The parliamentary body ruled that he had committed a serious infringement by recording and broadcasting unauthorised images in restricted areas of the building, an incident involving former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
What comes next
Quiles, who is registered in Alicante but lives in Madrid, has said he will go to his nearest police station on Thursday with his lawyer. The specific case that triggered the arrest warrant remains unknown, as the court has not yet communicated which proceeding it stems from. Until then, the warrant stands.
- Quiles allegedly commits a hate crime against a disabled person protesting Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
- A major blackout hits Spain.
- Quiles appears in court for the revealing-secrets and harassment case against Red Eléctrica president Beatriz Corredor.
- A judge archives Begoña Gómez's complaint against Quiles.
- A judge issues an arrest warrant; police search Quiles' workplace but do not find him.
