Spanish Congress Expels Vox Deputy After Unprecedented Confrontation on the Rostrum

A Vox deputy, José María Sánchez García, was expelled from the plenary session of the Spanish Congress of Deputies on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, after climbing to the presidential rostrum to confront First Vice President Alfonso Rodríguez Gómez de Celis, who was presiding over the session at the time. Sánchez García had been called to order three times before the expulsion was enforced. The incident unfolded during a debate on a PSOE initiative on the so-called 'bibliocausto', the burning of books during the Franco regime. Sánchez García, who serves as Vox's spokesperson in the Constitutional Commission, initially protested from his seat, then approached a legal clerk at the presidential bench before ultimately confronting Gómez de Celis directly. The expulsion bars Sánchez García from participating in the entire week's plenary sessions. Sánchez García justified his actions by claiming that ERC deputy Jordi Salvador had called Vox members "murderers and criminals," allegations Salvador denied when approached by journalists, responding with a brief "no."

The incident is the first expulsion from a plenary session in the Spanish Congress during the current legislature, according to parliamentary journalist María Llapart of laSexta. The comparison to the 23F coup attempt refers to February 23, 1981, when Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero stormed the Congress of Deputies with armed Civil Guard officers, holding lawmakers hostage in an attempted military coup. That event remains the defining moment of democratic fragility in Spain's post-Franco transition period.

Gómez de Celis feared physical assault from the rostrum Gómez de Celis described the confrontation as deeply alarming, saying he had feared it would end in physical violence. „The only thing I was thinking was where the slap was going to come from” — Alfonso Rodríguez Gómez de Celis via 20 minutos He told Cadena Ser that he had been "clear at all times" that he would maintain his composure and arrange for the deputy to be expelled. In an interview on La Hora de La 1, he said the episode reminded him of "the climb to the rostrum that was much more dramatic and put Spanish democracy in check," in reference to the 23F coup attempt, adding that both events "have the same ideology." Gómez de Celis also appealed to the PP to "reflect" on its regional governing pacts with Vox, thanking PP members of the congressional board who stood by him during the confrontation. He expressed sadness over the incident, describing it as "quite symbolic" of what is happening in Spain and globally with the far right, and said he had received solidarity from practically all parliamentary groups except Vox.

PSOE and ministers invoke Tejero, demand forceful sanctions PSOE spokesperson Patxi López called the incident "very serious" and urged the Bureau of Congress to impose a "forceful" sanction beyond the one-week expulsion already in effect. „This cannot be allowed and it must have consequences. May the Regulations be applied and let the sanction be forceful” — Patxi López via Europa Press López stated that comparable behavior had occurred only twice in recent democratic history — once with Tejero and once with this same deputy. Minister of the Presidency, Justice, and Relations with the Courts Félix Bolaños addressed Vox spokesperson Pepa Millán directly during a parliamentary control session, thanking her sarcastically for "not assaulting my seat with violence and shouting at me ten centimeters from my face." Minister for Digital Transformation Óscar López also invoked the 23F comparison, demanding consequences beyond the chamber expulsion. Minister of Culture Ernest Urtasun, speaking on TVE, described Sánchez García's behavior as "political violence" and compared the deputy to a "typical señorito accustomed to always giving orders, not accustomed to being in a democratic parliament elected by the people and in the minority."

Vox blames the presidency, not its own deputy Vox spokesperson Pepa Millán declined to condemn her colleague's conduct, instead placing responsibility on the chamber's leadership. „The ones who are wrong are the presidents of the Chamber by not exercising their function of control and order” — Pepa Millán via eldiario.es Millán did not address the remarks made by Bolaños during the plenary control session when she subsequently took the floor. Vox had issued a statement after Tuesday's session claiming, without presenting evidence, that ERC deputy Jordi Salvador had insulted Sánchez García with terms including "murderer," "ignorant," and "criminal" on two occasions — allegations Salvador denied. Parliamentary journalist María Llapart noted that those present in Congress described the episode as "an anomaly, a shame, and something lamentable," and confirmed it was the first expulsion of a deputy from a plenary session in the current legislature. Television presenter Antonio García Ferreras of Al Rojo Vivo stated that he believed "such a very, very, very violent moment by a deputy toward the Presidency of the Chamber has never been experienced," adding that the deputy "only lacked saying 'everyone to the floor.'"

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