Kneecap announce surprise London performance hours after terror charge
Mo Chara was charged over the alleged display of a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in London last year.
Rap trio Kneecap have announced a surprise performance in London hours after one of their members was charged with a terror offence.
The Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday that Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, had been charged over the alleged display of a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, in November last year.
The group from Belfast, who rap in the Irish language, said they would perform at the 100 Club on Oxford Street on Thursday evening, ahead of their headline slot at Wide Awake Festival in Brockwell Park, south London, on Friday night.
In a post to social media, they said: “London. We’re back. See you at The 100 Club tonight – tickets on sale in one hour at 4pm.”
The post contained a quote from former Sex Pistols vocalist John Lydon who told ITV’s Good Morning Britain (GMB) “maybe they need a bloody good kneecapping” in response to the “kill your MP” footage.
The venue confirmed the gig in a social media post and said doors to the event will open at 7.30pm.
O hAnnaidh, 27, was charged by postal requisition and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 18, the Metropolitan Police said.
In response to the charge, the group said in a social media statement: “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.
“We deny this ‘offence’ and will vehemently defend ourselves, this is political policing, this is a carnival of distraction.
“We are not the story, genocide is, as they profit from genocide, they use an ‘anti-terror law’ against us for displaying a flag thrown on stage. A charge not serious enough to even warrant their crown court, instead a court that doesn’t have a jury. What’s the objective?
“To restrict our ability to travel. To prevent us speaking to young people across the world. To silence voices of compassion. To prosecute artists who dare speak out.
“Instead of defending innocent people, or the principles of international law they claim to uphold, the powerful in Britain have abetted slaughter and famine in Gaza, just as they did in Ireland for centuries. Then, like now, they claim justification.
“The IDF units they arm and fly spy plane missions for are the real terrorists, the whole world can see it.”
Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command were made aware on April 22 of an online video from the event, police said.
An investigation led to the Crown Prosecution Service authorising the charge.
Earlier this month, the Metropolitan Police said Kneecap were being investigated by counter-terrorism police after videos emerged allegedly showing the band calling for the deaths of MPs and shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”.
The rap trio have had gigs cancelled after the footage emerged but are still listed to headline Wide Awake.
They apologised last month to the families of murdered MPs but said footage of the incident had been “exploited and weaponised”.
They also said they have “never supported” Hamas or Hezbollah, which are banned in the UK.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called for Kneecap to be banned while other politicians pushed for the group to be dropped from the Glastonbury Festival line-up.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism, which reported Kneecap to counter-terrorism police, posted on X: “We are pleased to see the police have acted swiftly. Hamas and Hezbollah are both proscribed terrorist organisations in the UK. The law must be enforced.”
In 2024, the band released an eponymous film starring Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender which is a fictionalised retelling of how the band came together and follows the Belfast group on their mission to save their mother tongue through music.
Formed in 2017, the group, made up of O hAnnaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, are known for their provocative lyrics and merchandise as well as their championing of the Irish language.
Their best-known tracks include Get Your Brits Out, Better Way To Live, featuring Grian Chatten from Fontaines DC, and 3Cag.
