By Associated Press
London: British police have charged a member of Irish hip-hop group Kneecap with a terrorism offence for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert.
The Metropolitan Police force said Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, 27, was charged under the Terrorism Act with displaying a flag in support of a proscribed organisation. The alleged offence happened at the Kentish Town Forum, a London venue, on November 21, 2024.
Police referred to the musician by the English spelling of his name, Liam O’Hanna. His stage name is Mo Chara. Police said he was due in court on June 18.
Kneecap’s management team did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.
Police this month said counterterrorism detectives were investigating Kneecap after videos emerged from a 2023 London concert allegedly showing the band shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” and calling on people to kill lawmakers.
The footage allegedly showed a member of the band saying: “We’re still under British occupation in Ireland. We still have old men in London making decisions that affect my life in Ireland.
“And even worse, they’re f---ing Tories. The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” After the police investigation was announced, Kneecap said it had “never supported Hamas or Hezbollah”, and accused “establishment figures” of taking comments out of context to “manufacture moral hysteria”.
Police said they were still investigating 2023 footage.
On a recent tour of Australia, during its final Melbourne show in March, the band briefly brought the cut-off bronze head of King George V on stage. The head had been severed from a 2.7-metre high statue in Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens precinct on the King’s Birthday long weekend last year, and had been missing since then. Victoria Police at the time said the matter was being investigated.
The Belfast trio has been praised for invigorating the Irish-language cultural scene in Northern Ireland, where the status of the language remains a contested political issue in a society still split between British unionist and Irish nationalist communities.
Liam O’Hanna, known as Mo Chara, (left) with Kneecap bandmates DJ Próvaí and Móglaí Bap, in Melbourne in March.Credit: Penny Stephens
The group has also been criticised for lyrics laden with expletives and drug references and for political statements.
Several Kneecap gigs have been cancelled as a result of the controversy, and some British lawmakers have called on organisers of next month’s Glastonbury Festival to scrap a planned performance.
Kneecap was not well known outside Northern Ireland before the release of a feature film loosely based on the band’s origins and fuelled by a heavy mix of drugs, sex, violence, politics and humour.
The group’s members played themselves in Kneecap, which won an audience award when it was screened at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. It was shortlisted for best foreign-language picture and best original song at this year’s Academy Awards, though it didn’t make the final cut.
AP
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