Kneecap's Mo Chara, aka Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, has been charged with a terror offence following a Metropolitan Police investigation into allegations that he displayed a flag in support of proscribed organisation Hezbollah at a gig in London last year.
The police charge is that the rapper was displaying the flag at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London on November 21 “in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation.” After being made aware of video footage from the gig, an investigation led to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorising the charge.
Ó hAnnaidh, 27, is set to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on June 18.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism, which reported the rapper to the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command have welcomed the prosecution.
Kneecap have issued a statement in response to the charge which they deny, and which they claim is "political policing" from the "British establishmemt".
Their statement adds:
"This is a carnival of distraction. We are not the story. Genocide is.
In reference to the "British establishment" the band say: "As they profit from genocide, they use an 'anti-terror law' against us for displaying a flag thrown on stage. A charge not serious enough to even warrant their crown court, instead a court that doesn't have a jury. What's the objective?
"To restrict our ability to travel. To prevent us speaking to young people across the world. To silence voices of compassion. To prosecute artists who dare speak out.
"We stand proudly with the people," the statement concludes. "You stand complicit with the war criminals. We are on the right side of history. You are not.
"We will fight you in court. We will win. Free Palestine."
Video footage of the band's performance at the 02 Forum circulated on social media following the West Belfast trio's controversial performance at Coachella festival, which led to discussions about the band in the UK Parliament.
At the Californian festival, the trio displayed messaging stating “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. Fuck Israel, Free Palestine.”
This drew widespread condemnation and accusations of anti-semitism against the group from British MPs, and individuals within the music industry, and led to the group and their US booking agency parting company.
Sharon Osbourne was among the most vocal critics of the band, claiming that Coachella “compromised its moral and spiritual integrity” by allowing Kneecap (and Green Day and others) to criticise Israel from its stages. Osbourne suggested that Kneecap's visas for future US gigs should be revoked.
In an unrelated incident, connected to a gig one year earlier, a band member was also accused of saying, “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.”
This led to condemnation of the group from the families of murdered Conservative MP David Amess, and murdered Labour MP Jo Cox, and provoked calls for the band to be taken off British festival bills, including Glastonbury and TRNSMT.
In a subsequent statement, Kneecap apologised to the families of both late MPs.
Israel has been accused of carrying out genocidal acts during the ongoing war in Gaza by numerous organisations, including the UN Human Rights Council. Israel's military campaign, sparked by the October 2023 terrorist attack by Hamas on Israeli soil that saw around 1,200 people killed and 251 people taken hostage, has resulted in the death of over 50,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. 58 hostages from the October 7, 2023 attack remain held in captivity by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has denied any genocidal intent, which requires certain thresholds to be met in order to be legally recognised; a case brought forward by South Africa to The International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians is ongoing.
The conflict has been on-going for decades, with official UN figures for the 15 years before the 2023 escalation recording 7277 Palestinian deaths and 162,121 Palestinian injuries in occupied Palestinian territory and Israel since 2008, and 368 Israeli deaths and 6,670 Israeli injuries during the same time span in the region.
Kneecap are due to headline Wide Awake festival in London tomorrow, and will play a 'warm up' show at London's 100 Club tonight, May 22.
Tickets for Wide Awake are still on sale.
