Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King has been branded a liar by the family of two American hostages who he claims he “worked frantically behind the scenes” to free from Hamas.
Natalie Shoshana Raanan, 17, and her mother Judith Tai Raanan, 59, returned to Israel late Friday after leaving Gaza through an Egyptian-controlled border crossing.
King, who has made controversial statements in the past, claimed on Instagram that he helped get the women released.
The Raanans were two of more than 200 hostages taken by the Islamic terror group following its shock massacre of at least 1,400 people in Israel on October 7.
King said that “dozens of us” had worked for her release and that the Raanan family “have been my supporters and have stood with us in protesting against police violence in America.”
But the family says King is lying and that he did nothing to help the two women achieve their freedom, saying in a statement: “First and foremost, we make it clear that he is lying!”
Controversial Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King is being called a liar by the family of two American hostages who he claims he “worked frantically behind the scenes” to free from Hamas
Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan arrived back in Israel late Friday, the Israeli government confirmed
“Our family has nothing to do with him and has had nothing to do with him, directly or indirectly,” they told TMZ. “Not him and nothing he claims to represent.”
Uri Raanan, Natalie’s father, later told The Daily Beast that his son had contacted King but he still had little to do with the release.
“We contacted many people from all over the world to help bring Natalie and Judith to safety. “We are not affiliated with Mr. King,” he said. “Ben, my son has been talking to him until today without anyone in the family knowing.”
“Our family in Israel released this statement denying that we knew him before we learned that Ben had spoken to him,” Raanan added. “We have nothing more to say.”
King claimed in a statement that he was telling the truth, but did not indicate that he had spoken to anyone other than the son of Raanan.
“I have spoken directly and repeatedly to this family. I have a job, a career and a family. “I would throw everything away to invent something like that,” King said. “Luckily I kept records of everything.”
King then took to Twitter and posted screenshots of various interactions as well as a statement guaranteeing that he had spoken to Ben.
King said that “dozens of us” had worked for her release and that the Raanan family “have been my supporters and have stood with us in protesting against police violence in America.”
However, the family says King is lying and did nothing to help the two women achieve their freedom. A statement said: “First of all, we make it clear that he is lying!”
“Our family has nothing to do with him, directly or indirectly, and has had nothing to do with him,” it said in a statement
The screenshot messages posted by King show that he believed King had contacts in Palestine who could help.
He also said that he recorded all of his conversations with Ben Raanan, but did not say whether Ben knew about it.
The Raanans have not yet responded to the thread in which King posts alleged texts in which Ben calls him “a real hero.” Raanan has since deleted his Instagram account.
The former media expert also claimed that Israel pressured the Raanan family to distance themselves from him.
King is known for telling the truth, even to those he claims to be helping. In the past, he used donations to buy a prize-winning show dog, which he later returned because it had “a little too much energy.”
His political action committee, Grassroots Law, made two donations to California-based Potrero Performance Dogs last year, financial disclosures showed. The funds, totaling more than $40,000, were for “contractor services.”
A few days after Grassroots made its second contribution in February, King welcomed Marz, a thoroughbred from Potrero, to his family. The dog was returned to the breeder last month.
King has been battling fraud allegations for many years but has not been formally charged with wrongdoing related to Grassroots, which he founded to put pro-crime officials in office.
King has also been accused of fraud on multiple occasions, including by the mother of Tamir Rice – a 12-year-old Ohio boy killed by police in Cleveland – who claims he conducted unauthorized fundraisers on her son’s behalf.
King, who has also been accused of multiple fraud, released a statement and screenshots from Natalie’s brother Ben that proved he helped free the women
In December 2021, the Real Justice PAC, co-founded by King, was ordered to pay $30,000 to the city of Philadelphia after admitting to making omissions in its financial reports while working on District Attorney Larry Krasner’s campaign.
In 2019, King released an audit claiming he received a monthly salary of $4,166 from Real Justice PAC and “no compensation at all” from grassroots predecessor Action PAC.
He claimed he was “literally the only person” on the PAC’s staff who did not receive a salary, saying, “I have not received a salary or a stipend of any kind all year. “I do everything for free .’
That same year, he was accused by his former ally DeRay Mckesson of following a “consistent pattern of fraud” over many years.
In an open letter, Mckesson claimed that King had acted in a way that “endangered others, the collective work and the shared sense of integrity.”
King has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
King (pictured in September 2019) has been accused of fraud several times in recent years, but has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing related to Grassroots. He has denied all allegations of wrongdoing
Leaving Gaza with no apparent physical injuries, the Raanans got out of a car and were then surrounded by ICRC staff wearing Red Cross vests. The two then got into a Red Cross vehicle and drove away.
They are now receiving medical treatment, the governor of Illinois said, without giving details of their condition. The deal to release the couple was brokered by Qatar.
Her brother Ben joked he was “annoyed” because she still looked “like a supermodel” despite her ordeal.
“She’s doing well.” “She’s doing very well,” said Uri Raanan, 71, who lives in a Chicago suburb, adding that neither her whereabouts nor her conditions in captivity were discussed.
“She didn’t tell me anything. But she told me that they were treated nicely and that she was doing very well.
“I will hug her and kiss her and it will be the best day of my life.”
Knowing that Natalie may be able to celebrate her 18th birthday at home with family and friends next week feels “wonderful.” “The best news,” said Uri Raanan.
He said he assumed Natalie and Judith were in transit to Tel Aviv to meet their relatives and that both would be back in the U.S. early next week.
“I spoke to my daughter earlier today – she sounds good and she looks good,” he said at a news conference outside his home.
“I spoke to President Biden. I thanked him for his concern in releasing them. He was very nice.
“I spoke to Governor Pritzker and he was nice.
“And hopefully I’ll see her next week. Next week is Natalie’s birthday and we’ll celebrate it here.”