Vancouver Police Make Arrest at Home Related to Samidoun Terrorist Group

Vancouver Police Make Arrest at Home Related to Samidoun Terrorist Group
Police cars are seen parked outside Vancouver Police Department headquarters in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck
The Canadian Press
Updated:
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VANCOUVER—One person was taken into custody over what Vancouver Police say is part of a hate-crime investigation.

A statement from the department says officers from its Major Crime Section and Emergency Response Team executed a search warrant on a home in the 1800 block of East 1st Avenue on Thursday.

Police say that one person was taken into custody then released “pending completion of the investigation,” which is being conducted under a section of the Criminal Code on inciting hatred.

The person was not named by police, but a Corporations Canada database shows that the registered address of Samidoun—a pro-Palestinian group the federal government recently added to its list of terrorist groups—is located in the same block as the police search.

The file names Charlotte Kates as one of Samidoun’s directors and lists her address as that of the group’s office.

Kates was arrested last year in Vancouver after praising the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel as “heroic and brave” in a speech at a rally.

Samidoun said at the time that Kates was released on the condition that she not attend any protest or rallies until an October court date, but no charges were filed by then and the conditions expired.