We were in Barcelona in September 2025. We were actually headed to the „BAN FOSSIL ADS GATHERING.“ But then we took a wrong turn and ended up in an adbusting action against the expansion of the airport there (See Part 1 of BRACELONE: THE SAGA!) We folded paper airplanes out of advertising posters. Two arrests, three identity checks, a cell phone without a PIN, and the police presumably stealing all the data of all conference participants at the hostel later (see Part 2 of BRACELONE: THE SAGA!) and a wild chase with plainclothes cops (Part 3 of BRACELONE: THE SAGA!) We’re hopefully wiser now. We describe what we’ve learned here in the spectacular 4th part of our thrilling BRACELONE adventure saga!
What has happened so far in BRACELONE: THE SAGA:
In the first part of our saga, we describe, the protests against the airport expansion in Barcelona, the adbusting action „Paper Planes“ and its achievements, and how we can apply it to Berlin with a connection to the German Armed Forces:
https://antifawerkstatt.noblogs.org/post/2026/04/06/adbusting-in-barcelona-paper-airplanes-against-airport-expansion-part-1/
In the second part, we describe the two arrests in the context of the „Paper Planes“ adbusting action at Plaça de Catalunya:
https://antifawerkstatt.noblogs.org/post/2026/04/06/busted-in-barcelona-paper-airplane-protest-against-airport-expansion-part-2/
A nighttime chase with observing officers Undercover cops, a bar raid, and data theft from a hostel? That’s how wild things get in the third part of our BRACELONE SAGA:
https://antifawerkstatt.noblogs.org/post/2026/04/06/whos-afraid-of-special-patrol-group-cops-action-report-on-paper-planes-adbusting-in-barcelona-part-3/
Back Home Again
In the following days in Barcelona and on the journey home, there were no further police encounters, no one was intercepted at the border, and everyone arrived home safely. We’re back in Berlin now. And the proceedings have been dropped. Time and opportunity to recap the events in BRACELONE – THE SAGA! What do we do with this now?
Simple Action
We actually thought the action was quite nice. Nice and simple. Easily doable anywhere. Especially since there are many cities with advertising displays and airport expansions.
Next with the German Armed Forces?
We’re considering whether the paper airplanes could have a German Armed Forces connection. Here are the first experiments, which still need some development:
If you have any ideas on how to turn this into a coherent action, please send an email to w2a@riseup.net
Uncertainty?
The accounts of those affected were very instructive, particularly their anxieties about encountering the police without understanding the language or the legal framework (see Part 2 and Part 3 by BRACELONE-THE SAGA!). It offered an interesting shift in perspective for us middle-class kids, given what is unfortunately considered a completely „normal“ and „appropriate“ police operation. Shouldn’t we incorporate this into our anti-racism or activist training?
Asking questions?
Why didn’t we ask any questions in the preliminary meeting (see Part 2 of BRACELONE: THE SAGA)? Questions about the right to remain silent? What the police are actually allowed to do, and the rather obvious and predictable desires of the cops regarding our hostel, cell phones, and phone numbers? Our partners from Barcelona would certainly have been happy to answer them if we had shown interest. But we didn’t. Hopefully, we will next time.
Thinking critically during actions?
When planning actions, you have to think critically. Were we too flattered by the invitation to participate, or too impressed by the top-secret hideout in fancy downtown Bracelone? What put us so much into consumer mode that critical thinking unfortunately didn’t work so well for us anymore?
Content?
And what about the content of the action? The police’s comment about whether we tourists also do such nonsense at home was quite predictable (see the very exciting Episode 2 of the super interesting BRACELONE: THE SAGA!). At least we traveled by train and not by plane. But we should have given more thought to the deeper layer of the question: how do we view this in relation to our tourism in Barcelona, which is already suffering from over-tourism? (We’ll address this in the politically explosive Episode 5 of BRACELONE: THE SAGA!).
Appropriate debriefing
What we also appreciated was that the organizers of the conference we were actually attending weren’t at all annoyed the following day and were instead supportive, understanding, and very constructive. Although they weren’t privy to the action, almost all of their conference participants were roused in the middle of the night by panicked messages, and all their data was stolen from the hostel (see Part 1 of BRACELONE: THE SAGA!).
Spontaneous Space Alongside the Program
The conference organizers spontaneously made room and time for a sufficiently long debriefing. It was well-moderated and facilitated deeper networking. This enables us to write this text together from many perspectives. And it will hopefully also make the solidarity work for those affected, which is now beginning, easier. Thank you very much for that!
International Solidarity Work
Even though we were lucky and no one from the Workshop for Antifascist Actions (w2a) was affected, we’re of course participating in the solidarity work now underway for the Paper Planes. And we’re already overwhelmed. Gathering contacts, maintaining contacts, finding a tenacious lawyer in Barcelona, involving those affected in public relations across multiple borders… We’ll learn a lot of new things in the second season of BRACELONE: THE SAGA!
Case Dismissed
Just kidding. The second season will be quite short and will be released here. Our comrades in Barcelona gave us contacts for trustworthy left-wing law firms. We emailed them with powers of attorney from those affected. Then there was an online discussion where a lawyer wanted to know what we actually wanted. The lawyer then considered what she could do. She submitted inquiries on behalf of the people who had police contact in BRACELONE: THE SAGA! to the authorities in Barcelona to find out if any proceedings were pending. The result a few weeks later: Nope. No proceedings. And, as agreed, a bill for €60.00. BRACELONE: THE SAGA! Season 2 THE TRIAL is therefore on hold and will probably never happen.
Follow-up
The follow-up was a positive experience. It wasn’t nearly as stressful as we had anticipated. A seasoned veteran in our nationwide network put pressure on us in Barcelona to establish contact with all those affected and gatekeepers, even resorting to some forceful tactics, and to exchange contact information. This made it significantly easier for us to approach all the important people. And the exchanged contact information greatly facilitated the subsequent, proper handling of the case. Why it took the immense social pressure of a seasoned veteran? In retrospect, we don’t know either.
Spoiler alert for Part 5 of the first season of BRACELONE – THE SAGA!
But first, let’s get to the exciting finale of our thrilling and intriguing BRACELONE SAGA: How do we actually deal with the issues of overtourism and exorbitant rents when it comes to tourism and travel to Barcelona? After all, these are problems we face back home in Berlin as well. Stay tuned for the final, highly interesting, and politically charged Part 5 of BRACELONE – THE SAGA!, which we will be releasing soon!
(By the way, you’re always welcome to drink schnapps when „BRACELONE – THE SAGA!“ comes on.)
More info:
Paper planes against the airport expansion in Barcelona! Part 1:
https://antifawerkstatt.noblogs.org/post/2026/04/06/adbusting-in-barcelona-paper-airplanes-against-airport-expansion-part-1/
Busted in Barcelona! Part 2:
https://antifawerkstatt.noblogs.org/post/2026/04/06/busted-in-barcelona-paper-airplane-protest-against-airport-expansion-part-2/
Who’s afraid of plainclothes cops? Part 3:
https://antifawerkstatt.noblogs.org/post/2026/04/06/whos-afraid-of-special-patrol-group-cops-action-report-on-paper-planes-adbusting-in-barcelona-part-3/