Kneecap ‘plasters' London with message of support for group member due in court

Irish Times

6 hours ago

Rap group
Kneecap
has said it has 'plastered' London with messages of support for one of its members who is due to appear in court accused of a terrorism offence.
Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, is
accused of displaying a flag in support of Hizbullah at a gig in November last year.
The 27-year-old is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday following the alleged incident during a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London.
The charge he faces alleges he displayed a flag in a public place, 'in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation' – namely
Hizbullah
.
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Kneecap described the prosecution as a 'witch hunt' in a post on X on Tuesday evening.
The post including a short video which appeared to show a billboard that had been displayed in London with the words 'more blacks, more dogs, more Irish, Mo Chara'.
The Metropolitan Police said the force had charged Ó hAnnaidh, who appears on the court list as Liam O'Hanna, after initially being made aware of a video from the gig at the O2 Forum which had been posted online.
In a separate event shortly after the terrorism charge, Ó hAnnaidh could be seen in social media videos entering the stage with tape covering his mouth.
The Met previously said the Belfast rap trio were under investigation after clips posted online appeared to show the band calling for the deaths of MPs and shouting 'up Hamas, up Hizbullah'.
We've plastered London with a few messages ahead of this witch-hunt.
British courts have long charged people from the North of Ireland with "terrorism" for crimes never committed.
We will fight them.
We will win.
GRMA to our pals at
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL)
Kneecap said they have 'never supported' Hamas or Hizbullah, both of which are banned in the UK.
A rap band from west Belfast who perform mostly in Irish, Kneecap are Mo Chara, DJ Próvai and Móglaí Bap – real names Liam Óg hAnnaidh, JJ Ó Dochartaigh and Naoise Ó Cairealláin respectively.
They have been outspoken in support for
Palestine
and in their criticism of
Israel's
military actions
in
Gaza
. Following their Coachella performance in April, Kneecap faced a backlash over their comments about Gaza during the gig.
A number of Kneecap's gigs this year were also cancelled and UK ministers have sought to
put pressure on Glastonbury's organisers
to halt the group's performance at the festival in June.
The group insist the controversy has been manufactured in retaliation against their pro-Palestine stance and to distract from the what is happening in Gaza. - PA