Irish rapper, Liam O’Hanna AKA Kneecap’s Mo Chara, charged over Hezbollah flag at London concert

Police charged a member of the contentious Irish rap group with a terror offence for allegedly displaying a banned flag.

Contentious Irish rap group Kneecap says it is “not the story” but rather the situation in Gaza after one of its members was charged with a terror offence.

Police have charged a member of the group with a terror offence for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a London concert.

Liam O’Hanna, 27, perhaps better known by his stage name Mo Chara, is accused of showing support for the Lebanese militant group during a performance on November 21.

London’s Metropolitan Police said its Counter Terrorism Command launched an investigation after a video of the event surfaced online in April.

O’Hanna is accused of displaying a flag “in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation” in contravention of the 2000 Terrorism Act.”

The Belfastian rapper is scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 18.

Hours after the news broke, the band released a statement vowing to “fight” the charge while labelling it “political policing” and a “carnival of distraction”.

“14,000 babies are about to die of starvation in Gaza, with food sent by the world sitting on the other side of a wall, and once again the British establishment is focused on us,” the statement read.

“We are on the right side of history. You are not. We will fight you in court. We will win.”

It’s understood the group is alluding to calls from UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, who earlier this week told the BBC Tuesday that 14,000 Gazan babies could die in the next 48 hours if aid did not reach them in time.

(L-R) Mgla Bap, Dj Prova, and Mo Chara of Kneecap. Picture: Getty Images

The charge comes amid increasing scrutiny of Kneecap’s performances after footage circulated online that shows provocative political statements made by the band on stage.

One video appeared to show a band member shouting: “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah.”

Both groups, in Gaza and in Lebanon, are banned as terror organisations in the UK and it is a crime to express support for them- as is the case in Australia.

Kneecap has carved out a brand of confrontational style and Irish nationalist messaging but has denied supporting violence or banned groups.

It clammed footage had been “deliberately taken out of context”.

Irish hip-hop band Kneecap were gifted with the severed head of a King George V statue at their Melbourne gig in March. Picture: Kneecap Instagram

The backlash led to the cancellation of several of the group’s shows, including in southwest England and Germany.

The group, whose hits include Get Your Brits Out and Better Way To Live, caused controversy in Australia in March this year when the head of a King George V statue was brought onto the stage during Kneecap’s gig in Melbourne. “Some madman dropped by with a huge King George’s head so he could hear a few tunes for our last Melbourne show!” the band posted on Instagram.

The controversy has sparked a wider debate about artistic expression and political censorship.

The family of Conservative MP David Amess, who was fatally stabbed by an Islamic State group follower in 2021, called for an apology while the party leader Kemi Badenoch called for the band to be banned.

Liam O’Hanna aka Mo Chara has been charged with a terror offence. Picture: VALERIE MACON / AFP

In a statement in April, the band denied promoting extremist views and apologised to the families of Amess and Jo Cox, who was murdered in 2016 by a neo-Nazi sympathiser a week before the divisive Brexit referendum.

“We do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah,” the group said.

Nearly 40 musicians and groups, including Pulp, Paul Weller, Primal Scream and Massive Attack, have publicly backed Kneecap, accusing authorities of suppressing creative freedom.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin had urged the band to clarify whether they supported the group.

An attack in Israel by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to AFP.

Israel’s military response in Gaza has triggered a humanitarian crisis, with the territory’s health ministry on Tuesday putting the death toll at 53,655.

- With AFP

Originally published as Irish rapper, Liam O’Hanna AKA Kneecap’s Mo Chara, charged over Hezbollah flag at London concert