Four activists on Valentine’s Day‘Herbal Future’, a group identified as “a” civil disobedience collective and direct action tackling the Climate Crisis by embracing a plant-based agri-food system.” MasterChef restaurantIn Madrid they threw red and black paint all over the room.
Four activists were arrested National Police and his case is being investigated in Madrid’s court number 31. Initial assessment of the harm caused by that “non-violent action” reaches 85,000 Euros, As learned by CASO ABIERTO, Prensa Ibérica’s research and events channel.
“Do they have vegan food?”
The incident occurred on February 14 at around 13.30. Two of the four activists of ‘Futuro Vegetal’ They had reserved a table In Víctor’s name to dine at the luxury restaurant on Velázquez Street in Madrid. According to the restaurant manager, when they arrived at the restaurant, one of them started taking pictures of the restaurant’s menu and asked if they had them. “vegan food”.
Faced with the employee’s refusal and the surprise of the other customers, two of the young people: a blonde woman and a dark-skinned man. They started throwing red and black paint around. He said they were carrying two bottles of water inside. At the same time, a third activist recorded what was happening.
While several restaurant employees were trying to suppress them, one of the waiters went out into the street and He asked for help from the patrol. From the police in the area. Four activists were arrested. One of them is Swedish, the other is Ecuadorian and the third is from Madrid; the fourth was undocumented. Two of them live in Lleida, one in Granada and the other in Las Rozas (Madrid).
Two of the men had already been arrested. by the police after participating in other protest actions in June and December 2022. None of the four men wanted to testify before the police and all were charged with criminal damage and released.
Renovated facilities
The 31st Court of Madrid investigates the incident and tries to determine the cause of the incident. economic quantity According to those responsible, the restaurant, which was completely renovated a month before the attack, was damaged. The first assessment it has is the assessment made by the organization’s own Director of Operations. He stated that they should close the building for 45 minutes and made a provisional, albeit detailed, assessment of the potential damage and handed it over to the police.
The document in question evaluates the damage caused by the paint on the MasterChef logo at 25,000 Euros and 15,000 Euros, and also adds different amounts to the damage caused to different carpentry tools. sofa (6,000 euro), wall (3,000)ground (3,000), entrance grass (6,000), carpet (2,000), tablecloths (1,500 euros) and employee uniforms (4,000 euros more).
The company assessed the value of the damage caused by the painting to the original MasterChef logo at 25,000 euros. This included damage to tablecloths, walls, floors and even invitations to customers who witnessed the incident.
It also includes losses in customer reservations for that day, up to 85,000 Euros, in the damage list. Invitations to make amends for bad drink who suffered (5,000 euros). A court-appointed expert can confirm or deny these amounts and the restaurant’s insurer’s final report.
‘Futuro Vegetal’ claimed responsibility for the attack on the day it occurred. He shared the following on both Twitter and Telegram: “We acted. We filled the main room of the restaurant of the famous television show MasterChef with paint. We say no to subsidies given to the meat industry on Valentine’s Day.” He added: “Activists carried menus prepared by the group itself where they could read them: Plant-based menu next to the heart“.
In addition to this attack, Futuro Vegetal members have participated in all kinds of non-violent actions and acts of sabotage in the past months. These included attacking a runway at Barajas airport, blocking traffic on the M-30 in Madrid, throwing paint at the headquarters of a hamburger chain and, perhaps most famously, two activists gluing themselves to the frames of a building. The paintings of Goya’s majas in the Prado Museum are another example where the damage they could cause to the artistic heritage has not yet been assessed.