The rapper appeared before a London court today in relation to the charge.
Kneecap member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, known by the stage name Mo Chara, appeared before London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court today (18 June) after being charged with an offence by the Metropolitan Police under the Terrorism Act in May. He was accompanied by band members DJ Próvaí (JJ Ó Dochartaigh) and Móglaí Bap (Naoise Ó Cairealláin).
The 27-year-old allegedly displayed a banned Hezbollah flag during a show at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town on 21 November last year, breaching UK terrorism laws.
The band responded to the accusation in a statement on social media in May: “We deny this ‘offence’ and will vehemently defend ourselves”.
During a short appearance at the court, Ó hAnnaidh confirmed his name and address and was released on unconditional bail with a hearing date set for 20 August.
His legal team included criminal defence expert Gareth Peirce, who has defended the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four, and human rights lawyer Darragh Mackin, who represented the families of victims of the 1981 Stardust fire.
“British courts have long charged people from the North of Ireland with ‘terrorism’ for crimes never committed. We will fight them. We will win,” Kneecap wrote yesterday on X, calling the charge a “witch-hunt”.
The band has faced cancelled gigs and calls from MPs to be removed from the Glastonbury line-up this year since their performance at the first weekend of Coachella Festival on 11 April, during which Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh reportedly told the audience: “If anybody was wondering, Margaret Thatcher’s still dead”, before leading the crowd in a sing-along of Maggie’s in a box – which was cut from the festival’s live-stream.
“Not the only thing that was cut – our messaging on the US-backed genocide in Gaza somehow never appeared on screens either,” the band said. “Back next Friday Coachella and it’ll be sorted.”
When Kneecap returned to the Coachella stage the following week, they projected a series of pro-Palestine statements on-screen, including: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.”
The band has denied supporting any terrorist organisations, saying that their comments were taken out of context as part of a smear campaign against their pro-Palestinian stance.
“We also reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever. An extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponised, as if it were a call to action,” they said in another statement on X.
A range of artists, including Massive Attack, have issued statements in support of the band. Fontaines D.C., Pulp, IDLES and dozens of others have also signed a letter from Heavenly Recordings advocating for artists’ rights to freedom of expression. “As artists, we feel the need to register our opposition to any political repression of artistic freedom,” it states.