Mossos arrest a 14-year-old over Blocus riot calls in Barcelona, bringing the total to 10

The arrest on Friday

Mossos d'Esquadra arrested a 14-year-old boy in a town in the Vallès Occidental and announced the arrest in a statement on Friday, 6 November. Investigators believe he was an active participant in a TikTok profile and several instant-messaging groups used to spread and coordinate the 24 October call in Barcelona. According to the police, he also promoted and urged people to join a further mobilisation in Barcelona on 31 October, a week later. That second gathering produced no riots and no relevant arrests. The Mossos accuse him of public disorder and membership of a criminal group, the first time the force has charged a minor with this offence, after two Barcelona courts applied it to two adults now in provisional detention. The case file has gone to the Barcelona juvenile prosecutor's office, and the investigation remains open.

The calls behind the arrests

The 24 October call under the name 'Blocus' led to 133 arrests in Barcelona that day, according to the reports. Investigators identified a TikTok profile and several messaging groups as the channels used to circulate the call and coordinate its follow-up. Two suspects in Lleida had reached these channels through posters shared on TikTok calling for protests in Barcelona. A protest planned in Lleida for the weekend before 6 November did not go ahead because of police pressure, the reports say. The groups are described as having urged vandalism and looting, the same conduct the courts have cited against the adults held in prison.

Who has been detained

Reports published on 6 November put the total at ten people arrested in Catalonia in the week before, three of them adults and seven minors.

Adults3

Minors7

Adults

3 people

Minors

7 people

Data from the article text

Two adults and one minor are held in provisional detention for inciting looting and vandalism, while six minors are on supervised liberty by court order. An earlier report published the same day gave a figure of nine over the previous ten days, before the 14-year-old's arrest was added. Some of those released must take a course on the responsible use of social media, the reports say.

The Lleida arrests

On Thursday, 5 November, National Police arrested two minors, aged 15 and 16, in Lleida, and the juvenile court in that city ordered supervised liberty for both. They are accused of taking part in groups that encouraged vandalism and looting ahead of the 24 October events in Barcelona, and of giving advice on how to vandalise shops and confront police. One suspect, arrested by the Mossos in Bellmunt d'Urgell in the Noguera area, was released with a ban on going to Lleida over the protest that never took place. That suspect was also ordered to receive therapeutic and educational treatment on responsible use of social media and basic training on rights and responsibilities. Other suspects are residents of Barcelona, Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, Cabrera de Anoia, the Maresme and the Bages.

What happens next

The investigation remains open, and the Mossos say further arrests are not ruled out. The 14-year-old's case file is with the Barcelona juvenile prosecutor's office, while the two Lleida minors remain under supervised liberty. Eight of the nine suspects in the earlier count were linked to the 24 October call in Barcelona, according to the reports. The 31 October gathering produced no relevant arrests, so the case rests mainly on the events of 24 October.