We carried out an adbusting action in Barcelona together with local activists. Using paper airplanes in advertising displays, we protested against the airport expansion. Not everything went smoothly: Two arrests were made, and the police presumably collected all the data of the conference participants (see Part 2 and Part 1 our Barcelona Saga; the proceedings have since been dropped). Just when you think things can’t get any worse… the special patrol group cops are on the hunt!
Paper Airplanes Against Airport Expansion
Quick recap (those familiar with parts 1 and 2 of BRACELONE – The Saga! can skip to the very next paragraph): In Barcelona, we participated in the „Ban Fossil Ads Gathering.“ We took part in the „Paper Planes“ adbusting action to protest the airport expansion. We walk through the streets of Barcelona, using pipe wrenches from the hardware store to open advertising displays, fold the posters into paper airplanes, and scribble „Free Fall“ on them in English, Spanish, and Catalan (we describe this in Part 1 of our saga!).
Arrests because of adbusting
For those of us who traveled from Berlin, everything goes smoothly, but a person from France and a person from Germany (not Berlin) are arrested by the police (the cases have since been dropped). While much of the arrest goes well, some things do go wrong (we describe this in Part 2 of our exciting Barcelona saga!). Now we report what happened next!
Special patrol group on their tail
After being detained for over an hour at Plaça de Catalunya, the two are finally free. They want to return to their hostel. What they don’t know: They’re being escorted by special patrol group cops who are now glued to them.
Police stalking is contagious
The two run into someone they met at a conference. He’s on his way to a nearby bar. Other conference acquaintances are waiting there. After a brief conversation, everyone goes their separate ways. But the pursuit by the plainclothes cops is contagious: At least three plainclothes officers, who had been unknowingly attached to the two, are now following the previously uninvolved and unsuspecting acquaintance.
Busted in Brazil
After the previously uninvolved acquaintance enters the bar, it isn’t long before three police cars arrive. Their crews, together with the commander of the plainclothes officers, entered the bar. They systematically established the identities of the bar patrons gathered around the man who had been pursued.
Interrogation in Spanish
The three uniformed officers and three plainclothes officers surrounded the victims in the bar and spoke to them insistently in Spanish. Only one policewoman kindly switched to English, while the others remained in Spanish, even though those present were clearly not proficient in the language. The officers asked if anyone knew anything about „Paperplanes.“ And, of course, about the hostel. Meanwhile, an unfriendly plainclothes officer radioed in the victims‘ identification details.
Intimidation
The victims described all of this as extremely intimidating. The fact that this tactic successfully intimidates white people with EU passports suggests just how disgusting linguistic police harassment is towards people of color or those without so-called „legal“ residency status.
Collecting Cell Phone Data
Despite attempts to refuse to give a statement, the police vehemently demanded the phone numbers of the three bar patrons. They gambled that providing a phone number is no more mandatory in Spain than it is in Germany. The plainclothes officers said, rather intimidatingly (more or less): „What is law in Germany is far from being valid here.“
Did they take pictures?
When a bar patron carelessly checked the time on his phone, the police wanted to confiscate not just the number, but the entire phone: „You took pictures of us!“ was their excuse. Hearing the story made us feel a sense of familiarity with the unfamiliar: something like this could happen to us in Berlin, too.
Threatening to contact the embassy
When no one gave out their number, the cops threatened to contact the German embassy. Is contacting the German embassy the worst threat Spanish cops can imagine? But this time, the phone stayed with its owner.
Scrotums?
After about 40 minutes, the Spanish police rather suddenly produced their IDs and took their leave with a Spanish insult (that the people in question had no/small scrotums…). All familiar from Berlin, too.
Paranoia in their minds
The plainclothes officers continued on their rental bikes. The other cops sped off in their cars. After the operation, those involved were quite upset. A nighttime walk to the Sagrada Familia helped them calm down a bit. At the same time, they feared that the police might be observing, searching, or even raiding the hostel… Furthermore, it wasn’t out of the question that plainclothes officers were still around; at least in their minds… Fortunately, the proceedings have now been discontinued.
Lessons learned?
The next part, the fourth installment of our super exciting and thrilling BRACELONE SAGA, tells you what we’ve learned from the whole experience and what we’re taking away from it all. Stay tuned for the fourth part, which we’ll be releasing soon!
More info:
Busted in Barcelona! Part 2 of BRACELONE: THE SAGA!:
https://antifawerkstatt.noblogs.org/post/2026/04/06/busted-in-barcelona-paper-airplane-protest-against-airport-expansion-part-2/
Adbustings with paper planes in Barcelona! Part 1 of BRACELONE: THE SAGA!:
https://antifawerkstatt.noblogs.org/post/2026/04/06/adbusting-in-barcelona-paper-airplanes-against-airport-expansion-part-1/