Spanish Protesters Became Holograms to Protest the Government's Protest Crackdown

This weekend, the protest group No Somos Delito sent a parade of holographic protesters past Spain's parliament building in Madrid in probably the most incredibly technologically advanced "screw you" move ever.

The Madrid-based group, whose name translates to "We Are Not a Crime," took to the streets and "marched" against having their right to protest taken away. An introductory video on the group's website shows a woman explaining the group's reason for action: "Ultimately, if you are a person, you won't be allowed to express yourself freely. You will only be able to do it if you are a hologram."

So they did.

According to the Guardian, bills passed in March criminalize certain forms of protest, including demonstrations outside parliament buildings, which carries a €600,000-plus fine, and taking pictures of or insulting police officers.

In a video posted by Ukraine Today, the scene outside the parliament building was made up of the holograms of 80 protesters speaking out against laws stifling freedom of expression and giving too much power to police.

"I find it a good idea," Alejandra De La Fuente, a protester, told Ukraine Today. "If the only way to demonstrate is in silence and with holograms, then we must do it this way. And I find it a very original way of demonstrating, given all that has happened."

While the approach is certainly the most unique, stifled freedom to protest is unfortunately common, even in the U.S. Whether it's breaking up a #BlackLivesMatter protest or the quietly implemented HR 347 "anti-protest" bill during the Occupy Wall Street movement, actions to hush the oppressed don't have a history of going well and sometimes even end up fanning the flame. No Somos Delito may have found the best way to make a stand — and avoid the ire of increasingly trigger-happy police forces.

It's like the old adage says: When your government says protesting is criminalized, you make like a post-mortem Tupac and send a bunch of disgruntled protesters to its front door.