Franco Assassination Attempt (1964)

Sun Aug 11, 1946

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Stuart Christie (1946 - 2020) was a Scottish anarchist writer and publisher.

On this day in 1964, an eighteen year old Christie was arrested while carrying explosives to assassinate the Spanish dictator, General Francisco Franco. Christie had become interested in the Spanish resistance to Franco after meeting Spanish anarchists living in London, in exile.

In Paris, he met members of the Defensa Interior organization and was assigned to bring plastic explosives to Madrid. The Defensa Interior had been infiltrated by government spies, however, and after arriving in Madrid Christie was promptly arrested by undercover police.

Christie was freed after serving three years in prison. He went on to found the Cienfuegos Press publishing house and in 2008 the online Anarchist Film Channel, which hosts films and documentaries with anarchist and libertarian socialist themes.