Kneecap rapper charged with terrorism after waving Hezbollah flag on stage
One of the rappers from the Northern Irish group Kneecap has been charged with a terrorist offense after waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London in November, as the controversy surrounding their stance has now taken a legal turn.
During a concert at the O2 Forum in London, Liam O'Hanna, known by his stage name as Mo Chara, "brandished (...) a flag, in a manner or under circumstances that give rise to reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organization, namely Hezbollah," an offense under the Terrorism Act 2000, London police announced in a statement on Wednesday.
Hezbollah, a pro-Iranian Lebanese group, is considered a terrorist group in the United Kingdom. Liam O'Hanna is due to appear in court in London on June 18.
Belfast-based trio Kneecap, known for their pro-Palestinian stance, have come under fire since accusing Israel of "genocide against the Palestinian people" in Gaza on stage at California's Coachella festival in April.
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Since then, videos of several of their concerts have surfaced on social media, including one showing one of the band members appearing to shout "Go Hamas! Go Hezbollah!" on a London stage last year. In another, they attacked the British Conservative Party, with one member declaring on stage that "a good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your MP."
In early May, counterterrorism police announced that they were investigating several of these videos, believing "there was sufficient reason to investigate possible offenses."
The rappers issued an apology, stating that they "do not support and have never supported Hamas or Hezbollah." "We condemn all attacks against civilians, always," they stated on social media. "We also refute the idea that we would seek to incite violence against a member of parliament or an individual. Never," they added.
In recent weeks, the trio has been removed from a festival in Cornwall (southern England) and several of its concerts planned in Germany in September have been cancelled.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews has called on the organizers of the famous English Glastonbury Festival to cancel Kneecap, who were scheduled to perform there at the end of June.
Several big names in music, such as Pulp, Fontaines DC and Massive Attack, signed a letter in early May in support of the trio, who they believe are the target of "political repression" and a "clear and concerted attempt at censorship and deprogramming."
The rappers, who rose to international fame with the release of their 2024 album "Fine Art" and a high-octane docu-fiction, "Kneecap," are distinguished by their punk energy.
The group raps in English and Irish, defending their language as an "anti-colonialist" protest against British power. They are no strangers to controversy. Their first song, "CEARTA," which means "rights" in Irish, was pulled from the airwaves of Irish public radio RTE for its drug references.
The band has been regularly accused by its critics of glamorizing drug use and of promoting anti-British rhetoric while advocating for Irish reunification. One of its songs is titled "Get Your Brits Out."
The name Kneecap comes from the popular practice of paramilitary groups during the Northern Irish Troubles period of shooting their victims in the knees.
Le Parisien
