Overview
- Spanish outlets reported he died at home in Valencia after prolonged ill health, with family present, and he had recently been cared for by his son Ramón, a priest.
- On February 23, 1981, he led roughly 150–200 armed Guardia Civil officers into the Congress during the Calvo-Sotelo investiture vote, firing into the ceiling and holding deputies and ministers for hours.
- Tanks took to the streets in Valencia under General Jaime Milans del Bosch and contacts involved General Alfonso Armada, but the plot unraveled after King Juan Carlos denounced it on national television.
- Tejero surrendered by midday on February 24, was arrested, sentenced to 30 years for military rebellion, expelled from the Guardia Civil, and paroled in December 1996 after serving about 15 years.
- In later years he kept a largely withdrawn profile yet attended Francoist commemorations and defended his actions as patriotic, underscoring the episode’s enduring place in Spain’s political memory.