Protesters tried to break into finance ministry during raids, says police officer

“I saw how people wanted to break into the building. The gates were made of iron and wood, but they were collapsing. Police officers had to hold them up,” a Guardia Civil officer told the Supreme Court on Monday, while testifying in the trial of Catalan independence leaders.

The officer described the scenes outside the Catalan finance ministry, where police were conducting a raid to halt the preparations for the October 1 independence referendum, saying: "It was crazy to see people standing on police cars."

"At 10am I was at the entrance of the finance ministry. There was a crowd screaming, harassing, intimidating… They were on vehicles," the officer told the court, adding that there was"an objective and obvious risk" of protesters “attacking” Guardia Civil police officers.