Kneecap Member Charged With Terror Offense, Band Vows to 'Vehemently Defend Ourselves'
Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, one-third of Irish rap group Kneecap, has been charged with a terror offense in the U.K.
Ó Hannaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara and was a star of Rich Peppiatt's 'print the legend' biopic on the Belfast-based band, is accused of 'displaying a flag in support of proscribed organization Hezbollah at a London gig,' according to the city's Metropolitan Police, also known as Scotland Yard.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Billy Williams, 'Gandhi' and 'On Golden Pond' Cinematographer, Dies at 96
Joachim Trier's 'Sentimental Value' Gets 15-Minute Standing Ovation at Cannes Premiere
Paul Mescal Seduces Cannes With Gay Romance 'The History of Sound'
The 27-year-old was charged by the police after an incident on Nov. 21, 2024, at a venue in north London. He is due to appear in court on June 18.
The band took to social media after news of the charge. 'We deny this 'offense' and will vehemently defend ourselves,' said Kneecap. 'This is political policing. This is 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.'
Concluded the band: 'We are on the right side of history. You are not. We will fight you in court. We will win.'
The group has drawn widespread criticism in recent months, and the Met Police said it would investigate after online videos showed the band calling for the death of British parliament ministers, as well as chanting 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah.' It is illegal in the U.K. to express support for Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim political and military group in Lebanon, as it is considered a terrorist organization in Britain.
Kneecap, also made up of members Naoise Ó Cairealláin and J.J. Ó Dochartaigh, said the video in question has been taken out of context, and that they have never supported Hamas or Hezbollah.
Last year, the movie Kneecap, also starring Michael Fassbender, dominated film headlines. Director Peppiatt made BAFTA history by tying the record for nominations for a debut filmmaker with six. He won one BAFTA, namely for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer, with Peppiatt serving as both writer and director of the film.
But the group's political views have gotten them into hot water. In April, they displayed messages about the ongoing war in Gaza during their Coachella set, leading to the cancellation of their concerts in Germany. Later, they parted ways with their booking agency Independent Artist Group, sources confirm to The Hollywood Reporter.
Kneecap is set to headline the Wide Awake festival in South London on Friday.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More
Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025
Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Seven African Countries Are on Trump's Travel Ban List. Why?
What did the nations of Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia, the Republic of Congo and Sudan have in common, until they were all put on President Trump's travel ban list Wednesday night? They are all African countries. But beyond that, not much links them. They are scattered across the continent, spanning desert and tropical forest. Some are democracies (in name at least) and some are under military rule, some have a heavy terrorist presence and others do not. Announcing the travel ban on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said that his administration considered such factors as whether a country 'has a significant terrorist presence within its territory, its visa-overstay rate, and its cooperation with accepting back its removable nationals.' Chad, Somalia and Sudan have struggled with persistent terrorist threats. But so have Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso — three African countries run by military juntas that took power in coups — and none of them are on the list. Visitors from Chad, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo overstay U.S. visas at very high rates — 49, 33 and 30 percent in 2023, according to Homeland Security Department data. But far more Nigerians and Ghanaians overstay their visas in absolute terms. The number of Ghanaian and Nigerian visa holders overstaying is in the thousands, while for the banned countries it is in the hundreds. Not all of the countries who overstay the most are on the list, either — Djibouti's rate is 23 percent and Liberia's 19 percent, according to the data, but neither is banned. Somalia, whose overstay rate is 11 percent, is on the list. Bright Simons, a policy analyst at IMANI Ghana, a think tank based in Accra, said that the Trump administration appeared to be 'punishing whole countries for the sins of a minority.' There was very little a government could do to prevent its citizens from overstaying their visas, Mr. Simons added, suggesting that a more effective approach might be to emulate other countries that ask foreign visitors to post bonds when they apply for visas, to reduce the incentive to overstay. This would 'ensure that personal responsibility is not jettisoned in favor of national stigma,' he said.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Met officer in VIP abuse scandal has gross misconduct charges dropped
The senior police officer who led Scotland Yard's VIP child abuse inquiry has had gross misconduct charges against him dropped. Steve Rodhouse, a former assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan Police, had been due to face a disciplinary hearing over his handling of aspects of Operation Midland. He had been accused of breaching professional standards and making dishonest statements while leading the operation. Mr Rodhouse, who is currently the director general of operations at the National Crime Agency, was the only officer to face disciplinary proceedings as a result of Operation Midland, which saw several high-profile figures investigated over false allegations of child abuse. On Thursday, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) announced that it was dropping the charges. A spokesman for the watchdog said the decision had been taken after a large volume of relevant material was unexpectedly disclosed by the Met. The decision means not a single officer has been held to account for the blunders that led to innocent people, including high-ranking military personnel and former ministers and MPs, being investigated over malicious child sex allegations. Operation Midland was launched in 2014 after fantasist Carl Beech went to police claiming he had been raped and abused by a VIP paedophile ring in the 1980s. He told police that well-known figures, including Sir Edward Heath, the former prime minister; Lord Brittan, the former Home Secretary; Lord Bramall, the former head of the Army; and Harvey Proctor, the former Tory MP, had raped and even murdered children. The Met spent 18 months investigating the claims, even raiding the homes of some of those falsely accused, before shutting it down without making a single arrest. In July 2019, Beech was jailed for 18 years after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice and fraud. Two other men, known as Witness A and Witness B, were alleged to have also come forward during Operation Midland to corroborate Beech's lies with false allegations, but they were never charged. The claims against Mr Rodhouse centred on comments he made in the media about the honesty of Witnesses A and B, and subsequent remarks he made to Sir Richard Henriques, the former High Court judge who was carrying out an independent review into the handling of Operation Midland. Following an IOPC investigation, the watchdog concluded that Mr Rodhouse had a case to answer and should attend a disciplinary hearing. But that decision has been reversed following the late disclosure of a cache of material from Scotland Yard. Harvey Proctor, who is the only living Operation Midland victim, described the decision to drop the charges as 'appalling'. An IOPC spokesman said there was no evidence within the material that there was any 'inappropriate motivation' in Mr Roadhouse's comments. The spokesman said: 'There was, however, substantial evidence to indicate the comments made to the media were the result of collaboration between senior Met officers and staff and that there had been appropriate considerations, including a desire not to discourage victims of historic sex offences coming forward.' Amanda Rowe, director of the IOPC, said: 'It is highly regrettable for all concerned that material we requested three years ago during our investigation, and we believed had not been retained due to the Met's retention policy, has only recently been discovered and disclosed. 'Police forces have a legal obligation to provide information to the IOPC when we request it. However, we acknowledge that we could have taken further steps during the investigation to seek additional assurance from the Met that relevant email material was definitely unavailable. 'We apologise to all of those affected and we are working with the force to establish exactly how and why this situation has occurred, and to reduce the risk of it happening again. 'Today's announcement does not change our finding that by failing to follow Sir Richard's recommendation in his review to investigate the witnesses, the Met's service was unacceptable and its subsequent reviews concluding no investigation was needed were flawed. 'During our investigation, we reported a potential crime to the Met, which is being actively investigated by another force.' Mr Rodhouse said the allegations made against him were 'ill-founded and incorrect'. In a statement, he added: 'I am pleased that the IOPC has finally recognised that I acted with honesty, integrity and care throughout a difficult investigation. 'I welcome the IOPC's apology, but I have yet to receive an adequate explanation as to how this debacle occurred. 'I recognise that senior police officers must be held accountable for their actions, and that public complaints must be properly considered. 'However, if police officers are to willingly take on complex and challenging investigations, they must have the confidence that any complaints made about their conduct will be competently investigated in a balanced and timely fashion. That was not the case here. 'Vital evidence was not considered despite it being readily available and repeatedly requested. 'I am grateful for all of the support that I have received, and I now look forward to resuming my career investigating and prosecuting serious criminals.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Olympic star, 3-time pro champion Vasiliy Lomachenko announces retirement from boxing
Vasiliy Lomachenko has announced his retirement from boxing after a decorated career that included two Olympic gold medals and professional world titles in three weight classes. Lomachenko announced his decision with a video on social media Thursday. Advertisement 'I am grateful for every victory and every defeat, both in the ring and in life,' Lomachenko said. 'I'm thankful that as my career comes to an end, I've gained clarity about the direction a person must take in order to achieve true victory." The Ukrainian star burst onto the international boxing scene at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, when the 20-year-old prospect steamrolled the competition. He showed off athleticism, footwork and ring intelligence far beyond his years, clearly marking himself as a once-in-a-generation talent. But he eschewed the professional sport and returned to win gold at the London Games four years later alongside Oleksandr Usyk, his close friend and the future undisputed professional world heavyweight champion. After going 396-1 as an amateur, Lomachenko finally embarked on a pro career largely spent in the U.S. Lomachenko won the WBO featherweight title in his third professional fight in June 2014, beating Gary Russell Jr. after ordering his promoters to get him a near-immediate title shot after turning pro. He won the junior lightweight belt in 2016 by stopping Román Martínez, and he added the WBA lightweight world title in 2018, stopping Jorge Linares. Advertisement Lomachenko finished his pro career 18-3 with 12 stoppage victories, incurring late-career decision losses to Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney. 'It's been an honor for all of us at Top Rank to promote the pro boxing career of Vasiliy Lomachenko," said Bob Arum, Lomachenko's U.S. promoter. "He was a generational champion, and we will all miss his participation in the sport.' Lomachenko paused his career for several months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and he has fought only three times since 2021. He stopped George Kambosos Jr. in the 11th round of his final bout in May 2024. ___ AP boxing:
