Canadian police raid director of banned pro-Palestinian group’s home, detain her for questioning

Police have raided the Vancouver home of pro-Palestinian activist Charlotte Kates, Canadian media outlets say, after she was released from custody.

The Vancouver Sun quotes police as saying Kates was arrested as part of an “ongoing hate crime investigation,” after she led protesters at an April rally in a chant of “Long live October 7” and called the brutal Hamas massacre “heroic and brave.”

A local resident quoted by the National Post says a flash-bang grenade was used during the raid and that windows of the home were broken.

Samidoun's Charlotte Kates was arrested during an armed raid on her home in Canada.

Charlotte has consistently supported Palestinian prisoners despite the repression the group faces. pic.twitter.com/B0eUbZAQCd

— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) November 16, 2024

Kates is one of three directors for Samidoun, a pro-Palestinian activist group that was banned from Germany in November for supporting terrorism, has been sanctioned by financial companies and, according to Israel, is linked to the terror group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

The US State Department describes the group as “a sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization.”

Kates and her husband, Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat, are also banned from entering the European Union.