Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced Friday that he is firing Catalonia's government and dissolving the regional parliament after it declared independence from Spain in a disputed vote. The prime minister also said he would fire the head of the Catalan regional police, shut down Catalonia's foreign affairs department and dismiss its delegates in Brussels and Madrid. In Barcelona, crowds celebrating the regional parliament's vote greeted Rajoy's announcement with loud jeers and whistles, as well as shouts of "we are not moving!" The Senate of Spain's action trumped the local parliament's independence vote, which was a symbolic act that is doomed because Spain's Constitutional Court is almost certain to disallow it. "Catalonia is an integral part of Spain, and the United States supports the Spanish government's constitutional measures to keep Spain strong and united," spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

Source: Fox News October 27, 2017 14:29 UTC