The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) have made an arrest and are conducting a criminal investigation to determine if comments made during a pro-Palestine protest violated hate crime laws. The VPD Major Crime Section launched an investigation on Friday after a video was posted on social media showing pro-Palestine protest speaker Charlotte Kates on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery speaking through a microphone to several hundred protestors. Kates praised the Hamas attacks on Israel and referred to a number of terrorist organizations as heroes.“We defend every one’s right to gather and express their opinions, even when those opinions are unpopular or controversial,” said VPD Sgt. Steve Addison in a Wednesday press release. “We also have a responsibility to ensure public comments don’t promote or incite hatred, encourage violence, or make people feel unsafe.” Kates said she wanted a free Palestine. “And that we stand with the Palestinian resistance and their heroic and brave action on October 7th, and they said long live October 7th,” she said. “And we say today long live October 7th.” .Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre have denounced statements such as these. She called out Canadian politicians for not denouncing the 40,000 Palestinians killed during the Israel-Hamas War. Portions of the video have been shared on social media and viewed hundreds of thousands of times. VPD said its investigators identified Kates and arrested her. It added she has been released from custody pending further investigation. Once the investigation is completed, the evidence will be presented to the Crown for its assessment. “We will continue to thoroughly investigate every hate incident and will pursue criminal charges whenever there is evidence of a hate crime,” said Addison. Trudeau said on April 21 there is a difference between peaceful protests and hateful intimidation. READ MORE: Trudeau says pro-Hamas protests do not belong in CanadaTrudeau called it “unconscionable to glorify the antisemitic violence and murder perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th.”“This rhetoric has no place in Canada,” he said.
