Kneecap member charged with terror offence

A member of Irish language hip-hop group Kneecap has been charged with a terror offence after allegedly displaying a flag in help of proscribed organisation Hezbollah at a London gig.

Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, 27, has been charged by the Metropolitan Police after an incident on 21 November 2024 on the O2 Discussion board in Kentish City, London.

Mr Ó hAnnaidh, who performs underneath the title Mo Chara, is because of seem at Westminster Magistrates’ Court docket on Wednesday 18 June.

Officers from the Met’s counter terrorism command had been made conscious on 22 April of a web-based video from the occasion.

Belfast man Mr Ó hAnnaidh has been charged underneath the title Liam O’Hanna.

An investigation was carried out, which led to the Crown Prosecution Service authorising cost.

Earlier this month, the Met said it would investigate online videos allegedly displaying the group calling for the loss of life of British MPs and shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”.

Each Hamas and Hezbollah are banned within the UK and it’s a crime to precise help for them.

Hezbollah is a Shia Muslim political and navy group in Lebanon which has been concerned in a sequence of violent conflicts.

Kneecap say they’ve by no means supported Hamas or Hezbollah and wouldn’t incite violence towards any particular person. They are saying the video in query has been taken out of context.

Various gigs that includes the band have been referred to as off for the reason that movies emerged.

They’re at present scheduled to headline Extensive Awake pageant in Brockwell Park, south London, on Friday.

Kneecap are an Irish-speaking rap trio who’ve courted controversy with their provocative lyrics and merchandise.

The group was fashioned in 2017 by three associates who go by the stage names of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí.

Their rise to fame impressed a semi-fictionalised movie starring Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender.

The movie won a British Academy of Film Award (Bafta) in February 2025.

In April, the group confronted criticism and industrial penalties after displaying messages concerning the struggle in Gaza throughout their set at US music pageant Coachella final month.

They had been dropped by their sponsor and reserving agent Impartial Artist Group (IAG) and former X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne called for Kneecap’s US work visas to be revoked.

Following this, footage emerged from earlier gigs, which had been investigation by counter-terrorism officers.

Conservative Celebration chief Kemi Badenoch shared one of many movies and renewed her criticism of the Labour authorities for final yr settling a legal case brought by the group.

It associated to a choice Badenoch made when she was a minister to withdraw an arts grant.