A member of the Irish rap band Kneecap was charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a flag in support of the Iran-backed group Hezbollah at a gig in London, police said.
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 concert venue, on 21 November 2024.
The authorities stated that the musician, known by his stage name Mo Chara, and referred to with the English spelling Liam O’Hanna, has been formally charged through postal requisition and is scheduled to appear in court on June 18.
The charge follows growing scrutiny of Kneecap’s performances after footage circulated online showing provocative political statements made by the band on stage.
One video appeared to show a band member shouting: “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah.”
Those groups, in Gaza and in Lebanon, are banned as terror organisations in the United Kingdom, and it is a crime to express support for them.
Police are still investigating footage from another Kneecap concert in November 2023.
Debate around artistic expression and censorship
The band, known for its confrontational style and Irish nationalist messaging, has denied supporting violence or banned groups.
It said video footage had been “deliberately taken out of context”.
The backlash led to the cancellation of several of the group’s shows, including in south-west England and Germany.
The group’s songs include Get Your Brits Out and Better Way To Live.
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 a follower of the self-proclaimed Islamic State group in 2021, called for an apology, while the party leader, Kemi Badenoch, called for the band to be banned.
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 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 Micheál Martin had urged the band to clarify whether they supported the groups or not.
