Pepper spray, knife, and doxing allegations: the incident exposing Red Birds

Pepper spray, knife, and doxing: the episode exposing Red Birds

Román Cuesta left his home with a knife and returned with pepper spray in his face, according to circulating accounts of the incident. The rest – who went to his doorstep, with what intention, and who holds the title of victim – is a tug-of-war playing out on social media for months, which this incident has reignited.

The person involved recounted it on his account: three individuals, whom he called fascists, allegedly appeared at his door to assault him. According to his version, they only managed to spray him with pepper spray and fled; everything was supposedly recorded on video, although he added they would not release it. The other side's narrative is the opposite: a group allegedly went to confront him, and he came out armed. The knife, which is not mentioned in his own account, is central to much of the criticism.

Doxing as an activity: what he is accused of

Cuesta is professionally linked to Pablo Iglesias's Canal Red and, above all, to a practice that has garnered him as many supporters as complaints: publishing the real identities of anonymous accounts opposing the Government. Doxing, in internet jargon. His defenders present it as a corrective against hate speech; his detractors, as an extrajudicial civil condemnation disguised as justice.

What he is reproached for is not just his name and surname. According to those who have trinc his trail, in some cases details of family members, addresses, and phone numbers have allegedly been revealed, material that turns a Twitter spat into a physical security problem. Hence, the response to an assault – alleged or not – generates little sympathy in certain sectors: the argument is that someone who has spent months pointing fingers at others cannot be surprised when someone knocks on his door.

Is it legal to publish an opponent's data?

Here, the technical diagnosis makes almost everyone uncomfortable. Those who handle data protection regulations maintain that the margin is minimal: publishing a car's license plate is already problematic, and disseminating a private individual's name, photograph, and address without a legal basis fits poorly with any interpretation of the law. The recurring joke among public employees is that they are required to exercise extreme diligence with every file, while certain circles seem to operate with a free pass.

Some argue that these practices are covered by a legal loophole – or outright fraud – that courts have not yet managed to address. And regarding the case involving the Attorney General, there is a widespread feeling in gossip circles that he will be the only one to ultimately face consequences. His case is outrageous, they repeat, half seriously, half jokingly.

A prison officer arrested for leaking data

The episode with judicial significance is different. A version circulated in the thread itself suggests that the police arrested an Asturian prison officer, identified as a member of Red Birds – the alleged doxing network attributed to Cuesta – for obtaining citizens' personal data through work-related applications. Accessing official databases, placed at the service of a private cause, places the phenomenon far from spontaneous activism.

In parallel, screenshots circulate of accounts announcing they will reveal identities "shortly" and messages naming alleged aggressors, one linked to Vox, according to unverified judicial publications. The effect is always the same: each side turns the same scene into evidence against the other.

Knife, spray, and the limits of self-defense

The most repeated legal discussion concerns the proportionality of the means used. It is argued that brandishing a weapon exceeds what is necessary to repel an attack with pepper spray, and that such excess would, if applicable, have incivil consequences. Against this, the other current responds with the age-old resistance manual: the spray malfunctioned, the attack dissolved on its own, and the outcome shows the attackers weren't looking to draw blood.

The detail of the canister has generated its own subculture. Some ask for the brand to avoid buying it, while others recall that active ingredient concentrations have been decreasing for years, lest the citizen be able to defend themselves. Trench humor for an issue that, fundamentally, speaks of something else.

What's at stake in the next round

With courts still far from resolving and an investigation into official data leaks underway, the predictable outcome, with the usual caveats, is that the next chapter will again be written first on social media and later, if at all, in a courtroom. The knife will continue to fuel conversation long after the spray has dried.