Far-left extremists threw rocks and other objects at the leader of Spain’s populist VOX party, Santiago Abascal, while he was giving a speech in Madrid.
The attack on Abascal came during a VOX rally in the Vallecas area of the Spanish capital on Wednesday. Far-left extremist protesters began to throw objects at the part leader and supporters.
According to a report from the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, several people were injured during the event, and police were forced to keep far-left extremists separated from the crowd of VOX supporters.
Abascal criticised Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and leader of the left-wing party Podemos Pablo Iglesias during the attack, saying: “This is what Marlaska, Sánchez, and Iglesias allow.”
Following the clashes at the VOX event, 35 people were injured, including 21 police officers. Three people were hospitalised: a police officer with a dislocated shoulder, a person with a possible broken hand, and another with a head injury.
“Although some days they disguise it with organised attacks, VOX is with the people, and more and more people are with VOX,” Santiago Abascal wrote on Twitter after stating that the party would not take be stepping back from political campaigning after the assaults.
Other European populist leaders condemned the attacks on Abascal and his party, including French National Rally leader Marine Le Pen who wrote: “All over Europe, these pseudo ‘Antifa’ use violence against patriots and undermine democracy, with legal impunity and total media complacency.”
“All my support to [Santiago Abascal], victim of the actions of these extreme left thugs,” Ms Le Pen added.
Italian firebrand Giorgia Meloni, leader of the national-conservative Brothers of Italy (FdI), also expressed her support for Abascal, saying: “From Italy to Spain, the left is the same all over the world: they are only democratic if you think like them.”
Last year, VOX MP Iván Espinosa spoke to Breitbart News on the subject of far-left violence against his party, revealing internal statistics that claimed party members had been physically attacked over 40 times and had received over 100 death threats.