Pablo Iglesias said the encounter took place as he was walking home in Galapagar. El Correo identified the town, while a separate report placed the incident near Galapagar railway station. Iglesias, founder of Podemos and a former Spanish deputy prime minister, has not identified the young man.
In a post on X on 4 November 2026, Iglesias said a young man insulted him. He said he started recording the man on his mobile, who then attacked him before fleeing with the phone.
Iglesias said the incident ended at a Guardia Civil barracks in Galapagar, writing that the young man had ended up there. Reports said Iglesias was the source of the account of the intervention.
The episode is separate from a Barcelona case involving an 18-year-old linked to Blocus, covered in an earlier report.
Iglesias had previously faced an attack at the Taberna Garibaldi, the Madrid establishment in which he is a partner. The bar reported that an individual arrived on 13 January with a wrench and assaulted one of its managers, damaging the premises.
In posts on its official Instagram account, the bar said the man was subdued and arrested by police. It also shared images showing a stone and the broken shopfront in Lavapiés. The establishment said the man had accused it of hate crimes, citing a sticker on the façade showing an Israeli flag crossed out and a notice barring Zionists.
Iglesias compared the incident with Nazi attacks on Jewish businesses and accused Zionists of targeting antifascist spaces. He ended his account of the street incident with a warning that fascists would not intimidate them.
The incident was reported ahead of Spain’s general election, scheduled for 29 November 2026. El Liberal said no connection between the confrontation and the election campaign had been established.
