Vancouver police arrest pro-Hamas woman who chanted ‘Long live October 7’

Following anti-Israel activist Charlotte Kates’s Friday speech in which she praised various terrorist threats and glorified the October 7 massacre, the Vancouver Police Department announced on Wednesday that they had arrested and opened an investigation of the protest speaker.

Police said that they had arrested the 44-year-old woman on Monday in response to videos of the speech circulating on social media, and while Kates has been released authorities are “conducting a criminal investigation to determine whether comments made during a protest last weekend violated hate-crime laws.”

Police response to the incident 

“We defend everyone’s right to gather and express their opinions, even when those opinions are unpopular or controversial,” says Sgt. Steve Addison.

“We also have a responsibility to ensure public comments don’t promote or incite hatred, encourage violence, or make people feel unsafe. We will continue to thoroughly investigate every hate incident and will pursue criminal charges whenever there is evidence of a hate crime.”

I failed to properly upload the full speech before the holiday began — here in three segments is the now deleted video of Samidoun member Charlotte Kates’s Friday Vancouver speech, in which she praises terrorist groups and leads the crowd in chants of “long live October 7.” pic.twitter.com/f6mjw9MvE6

— Michael Starr (@StarrJpost) April 30, 2024

The arrest and investigation of Kates, the international coordinator for the allegedly Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-affiliated (PFLP) Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, came as Canadian politicians and Jewish organizations condemned the speech made at the Vancouver Art Gallery during the Hands Off Rafah event.

British Columbia Premier David Eby on Monday condemned Kates‘ leading of the demonstrators in chants of “long live October 7,” according to The National Post.

“Celebrating the murder, the rape of innocent people attending a music festival, it’s awful,” Eby said at a news conference according to the Post. “It’s reprehensible, and it shouldn’t take place in British Columbia. There is clearly an element of some individuals using an international tragedy to promote hate that’s completely unacceptable.”

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said on X Sunday that he denounced “any celebration of terrorism and antisemitism.”

“This kind of behaviour is despicable and has no place in our city. To those who spew this vile hatred, you are not welcome here,” said Sim. “We will always stand up against all forms of hate and ensure Vancouver remains a city of diversity, inclusion, and respect.”

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs on Wednesday thanked the police for taking action against Kates.

“The glorification and justification of violence, rape and murder that took place should never be allowed in Canada,” said CIJA. “At a time when antisemitism is rising rapidly, we need our leaders to take concrete action now. We appreciate everyone who denounced these comments, but our community is still looking for concrete action to protect Jews from this type of incitement to violence.”

Bnai Brith Canada on Monday called for Samidoun to be de-incorporated as a a non-profit organization, and for the deportation of Kates and her husband, Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement head Khaled Barakat.

In a now deleted Instagram video published by Free Palestine Tri-cities British Columbia, Kates said “We stand with the Palestinian resistance and their heroic brave action on October 7.”

The activist also praised the Houthi for “leading the way” with attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, which she explained was “decolonisation” of the body of water.

Kates called for the removal of terrorist groups from the Canadian list of terrorist entities, explaining that “Hamas is not a terrorist organization, [Palestinian] Islamic Jihad is not a terrorist organization, PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) is not a terrorist organization, Hezbollah is not a terrorist organization. These are resistance fighters. These are our heroes.”

She urged protesters not to be ashamed or silent about their support of Hamas and other terrorist organizations.

“Everything that we can do is just to live up to the example that the resistance fighters set every day, yes, with their guns, with their missiles, and their rockets, but also with their medicine, with their books, with their love, and with their hope and joy for a liberated Palestine and for the future of humanity,” said Kates.