The Mossos d'Esquadra deployed a large security operation on 19 October 2026 to stop Vito Quiles from reaching the campus of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in Cerdanyola del Vallès. The university had said publicly on Sunday, 18 October, that it had refused authorization for Quiles to use its facilities or hold any activity there. It passed the decision to the Interior department of the Generalitat, which replied that the activity would not take place and that Quiles would be blocked from entering the campus. Catalan police also notified the promoter in advance that the deployment would be in place. Quiles had announced his event for 17:00 in the campus Plaça Cívica, although eldiario.es gave the start time as 18:00.
From 17:00, hundreds of people gathered in the Plaça Cívica with banners and anti-fascist chants. Estimates varied, with El Mundo describing hundreds while eldiario.es and El Periódico put the crowd near 500. Some protesters threw objects at officers, which El Mundo described as balls and paint cans, LaSexta as eggs and El País as glass. Police charged twice to disperse the crowd, and El Confidencial placed one of the charges around 18:45. El Periódico reported that at least seven Mossos vans were deployed on campus and about twenty officers surrounded a large group outside the hemeroteca, while other students searched the grounds asking where Quiles was. The gathering dissolved progressively around 19:00.
Mossos set up checkpoints on the access roads to the campus and searched vehicles, including their trunks, which caused significant tailbacks. When Quiles tried to approach one access in a van, officers stopped him and prevented him from passing. He then announced that he was moving the gathering to Sabadell, and El Mundo reported that about thirty supporters met him in the outdoor car park of a shopping centre there. El País said he went to an Ikea in Sabadell, a detail El Mundo did not mention. Quiles posted on X that the police had restricted his movement:
“The Mossos have limited our right of movement within national territory, breaking fundamental laws on political orders.”
Quiles mocked the security operation in a post that La Razón reported gathered thousands of views within hours. The post read:
“I'm in the trunk. I copied the trick from a friend.”
He also applauded the charges, writing that the Mossos were giving medicine to criminals who had occupied the public university of Barcelona. LaSexta linked the day to altercations in Pamplona in the week of 12 October, where three people were arrested during the same tour. eldiario.es reported that a year earlier, in 2025, Quiles had also convened supporters at the UAB, which led to clashes between protesters and riot police.
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On 19 October 2026, Mossos d'Esquadra stopped far-right activist Vito Quiles from reaching the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona campus, and he moved his event to a car park in Sabadell. Protesters threw objects at officers, who charged twice to disperse them.
AI text based on reports by EL MUNDO, EL PAÍS, El Confidencial and other publishers. Published .