Spanish court suspends far-right group Nucleo Nacional before Nov. 29 vote

A court in the northern Spanish city of Gijon suspended the activities of the ultra-right group Nucleo Nacional on Thursday, as part of an investigation into alleged hate crimes and illegal association.

The ruling orders the group's office shut, and blocks its bank accounts and social media content. It follows the arrest of 14 members on suspicion of inciting hatred against vulnerable groups and people with opposing ideologies. Police searched the group's headquarters in Madrid and other locations, seizing more than 20 firearms, some of them unlicensed, along with large quantities of ammunition and other illegal weapons. The court said key members had already been placed under precautionary measures, including a ban on leaving Spain and a requirement to report weekly to a court.

In a video posted on X, an unnamed Nucleo Nacional representative wearing a black shirt with the group's logo said the movement was a victim of "persecution and political repression." The group describes itself as a political movement; its website, now blocked by court order, said it seeks a "national awakening."

Spanish authorities have scrutinised Nucleo Nacional over its anti-immigration rhetoric, particularly after thousands of migrants crossed in July into Ceuta, Spain's North African enclave.

The decision comes ahead of Spain's general election on November 29 and a day after the first nationwide general strike in 14 years. Spanish police arrested three members of a far-right group in Madrid on October 3, after tens of thousands marched across the country over the housing crisis; the government said far-right activists, some performing Nazi salutes, tried to reach demonstrators camped in the Puerta del Sol square.