Catalan independence supporters march during a demonstration in downtown Barcelona, Spain, on October 2, 2017. Catalan leaders accused Spanish police of brutality and repression when they attempted to stop voting from taking place on Sunday, while the Spanish government praised the security forces for behaving firmly and proportionately. Videos and photographs of the police actions were on the front page of news media outlets around the world. #

Young supporters wave esteledas, or Catalonian independence flags, and shout slogans in front of a giant screen at the end of the "Yes" vote closing campaign in Barcelona on September 29, 2017. #

A young couple embraces in a courtyard of the Institut Moises Broggi, together with students occupying the school in Barcelona, one of the designated polling stations for the disputed October 1 referendum on independence from Spain, on September 30, 2017. People were occupying the polling stations to try and ensure they would remain accessible when the polls opened. #

People wait to vote outside a school listed as a polling station by the Catalan government in Barcelona on October 1, 2017. Catalan pro-referendum supporters vowed to ignore a police ultimatum to leave the schools they are occupying to use in a vote seeking independence from Spain. #

People join arms as they clear a path for the arrival of the official ballot boxes to arrive at the Escola Industrial of Barcelona polling station on October 1, 2017. #

Spanish Civil Guard officers break through a door at a polling station for the banned independence referendum, where Catalan President Carles Puigdemont was supposed to vote, in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain, on October 1, 2017. #

Catalonian firefighters stand between a group of would-be voters and Spanish Guardia Civil officers outside a polling station in San Julia de Ramis on October 1, 2017, on the day of the referendum on independence for Catalonia banned by Madrid. #

A protester falls on the ground after being hit in the face by a rubber bullet shot by Spanish National Police near the Ramon Llull school polling station on October 1, 2017. #

A woman is removed by force as police move in on crowds at a polling station where Catalonian President Carles Puigdemont planned to vote on October 1, 2017, in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain. #

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, center, speaks to the media at a sports center, assigned to be a polling station, in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain, on October 1, 2017. #

Pro-referendum supporters gather outside the Escola Industrial of Barcelona polling station to wait for the result of the independence referendum on October 1, 2017. #

Crowds gather to await the result of the independence referendum at the Placa de Catalunya on October 1, 2017, in Barcelona. Shortly after midnight, the regional government announced the results, saying that despite a low turnout—42 percent of registered voters—90 percent of the votes cast were for independence. #

Catalan independence supporters raise their hands, some painted in white as a symbol of protest, as they shout slogans during a rally outside the city hall of Girona, Spain, on October 2, 2017. #

Catalan regional government members and local politicians stand in Plaza Sant Jaume as they join a protest called by pro-independence groups for citizens to gather at noon in front of city halls throughout Catalonia, in Barcelona, on October 2, 2017. #