Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»police arrested a woman on suspicion that comments she allegedly made at a recent protest at the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Art Gallery about the Hamas attacks on Israel violated hate-crime laws.
Portions of a video of the unidentified woman speaking through a microphone to a crowd of hundreds in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»have been circulating on social media and were viewed "several hundred thousand times," according to a Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Police Department news release.
In the video, the 44-year-old speaker is heard praising the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 at a music festival in Israel and referred to several terrorist organizations as "heroes."
The VPD's Major Crime Section launched an investigation on April 26.
“We defend everyone’s right to gather and express their opinions, even when those opinions are unpopular or controversial,” says VPD 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.”
Police released the suspect from custody pending further investigation.
Once the investigation is complete, the evidence will be presented to the Crown for their assessment
