Vito Zoppellari Quiles will be barred from press activities in the lower chamber for another month, keeping him out of Congress in September. Parliamentary sources said the decision followed an incident on February 10, when Quiles disrupted a press conference held by Ione Belarra, leader of Podemos. The extension was part of a series of disciplinary proceedings that later led the Congress’s governing body, the Mesa, to agree to withdraw his accreditation permanently on September 22, 2026.
Quiles faced further disciplinary proceedings, and the accumulation of serious infractions put his accreditation at risk. Before the Mesa’s final decision, he was given 15 days to submit final allegations. The measure followed a temporary suspension imposed in May, reportedly over recording and distributing unauthorized images in restricted areas of Congress. Permanent withdrawal applies to his access to the lower chamber. The original decision did not affect his accreditation in the Senate.
During the February incident, Quiles bypassed the established order for questions and interrupted Belarra’s appearance, prompting protests from journalists present. Belarra challenged him over his political affiliations and his participation in a Partido Popular (PP) campaign event in Aragón. Quiles denied representing a party, while Belarra accused him of acting on behalf of the PP and Vox and questioned his compensation and professional ties.
The confrontation came a week after Quiles appeared as a guest at the PP’s Aragón campaign-closing event, where he met members of Nuevas Generaciones. Demócrata has also reported that Quiles built much of his public profile through Estado de Alarma TV, directed by Javier Negre; that he regularly attended Congress from 2021; and that he was accredited there from around 2022. His appearances at political events do not, by themselves, establish formal party membership. Demócrata described him as a guest rather than an informant at a Vox event and reported no formal militancy or organizational role in the party.
The Congress also suspended Bertrand Ndongo’s press credentials for a month after he interrupted a press conference by Sumar parliamentary spokesperson Verónica Barbero. The governing body applied the Law on Common Administrative Procedure, and its report found that Ndongo had committed two serious violations of the chamber’s internal rules: asking questions without being given the floor and ignoring repeated warnings. The PP opposed the sanctions and left the meeting in protest. This was the first time the new regulations had been applied to Ndongo.
Quiles’s accreditation dispute unfolded alongside further public appearances. In October, he sought to hold an event at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) as part of a tour titled “Mafia or homeland.” The university said it had not authorized the activity or use of its facilities and informed Catalonia’s Interior Department. Interior assured the UAB that the event would not take place on campus and that police would prevent Quiles from entering if he tried.
A separate Quiles-related gathering in Zaragoza on October 23 ended with five arrests and eight police officers injured, information from Telecinco. The event had been planned at the University of Zaragoza’s law faculty without the university’s authorization. Zaragoza en Común spokesperson Elena Tomás called the episode very serious and said police charges at a far-right event should not be normalized. The university said its response would follow campus-space rules and the principle of institutional neutrality.
Demócrata has also described legal proceedings and allegations involving Quiles, including a case over alleged insults and defamation against FACUA figure Rubén Sánchez. Those proceedings are distinct from convictions. The Congress accreditation decision, by contrast, is an administrative measure concerning access to the lower chamber.
In recent months, Spanish institutions have taken a firmer stance on breaches of protocol and misconduct by public figures. For example, a court in Badajoz recently barred David Sánchez from public office following a high-profile misconduct case. The ruling adds to a broader trend of accountability in Spanish public life.
Press accreditation rules aim to support orderly conduct and protect parliamentary proceedings. The measures against Quiles and Ndongo show how repeated breaches can bring escalating restrictions, while intensifying debate over journalistic practice and political engagement around access to public institutions.
