Cliff Notes – Kneecap star arrives at surprise gig with tape over his mouth after terror charge
- Irish rap group Kneecap performed a surprise show in London despite member Liam O’Hanna facing a charge related to a flag supporting Hezbollah.
- O’Hanna, who appeared on stage with tape over his mouth, was charged after footage surfaced from a November concert displaying the flag.
- The group defended themselves against the charge, calling it “political policing” and stating they aim to shift focus away from issues of greater significance.
Kneecap star arrives at surprise gig with tape over his mouth after terror charge | UK News
Irish-language rap group Kneecap has performed a surprise London show, with one of its members showing up with tape over his mouth after he was charged with a terror offence.
Liam O’Hanna, or Liam Og O Hannaidh, was charged with displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation, at a concert in London last November, the Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday.
Just hours later, Kneecap announced on their Instagram account that “we’re back”, adding that they would perform at the 100 Club on Oxford Street, London, on Thursday night.
The post also included a quote by former Sex Pistols vocalist John Lydon, who told ITV’s Good Morning Britain the rap trio “maybe (…) need a bloody good kneecapping” after footage of the band allegedly calling for the deaths of MPs emerged.
O’Hanna arrived at the 100 Club ahead of the gig and was later seen going on stage with tape covering his mouth.
He also joked about being careful with what he said before thanking his lawyer.
It came after at least three police officers were seen walking into the venue at around 7.35pm on Thursday evening.
A short queue had formed outside before the doors opened five minutes earlier, including one man in a band T-shirt.
The band said on X that the event sold out in 90 seconds, with 2,000 people on the waiting list.
Kneecap apologised to the families of murdered MPs last month, but said footage of the incident at their concert had been “exploited and weaponised”, adding that they “never supported” Hamas or Hezbollah.
The rappers had gigs cancelled after the footage emerged and politicians pushed for Kneecap to be dropped from the Glastonbury Festival line-up, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch calling for Kneecap to be banned.
The group from Belfast in Northern Ireland is still set to headline Wide Awake Festival in south London on Friday.
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?”
The charge came after counter-terror police assessed a video said to be from a Kneecap concert.
In the footage, O’Hanna is allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London, on 21 November last year.
Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command were made aware of a video circulating online on 22 April and an investigation led to the Crown Prosecution Service authorising the charge, the force said.
O’Hanna – who performs under the stage name Mo Chara – is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 18 June.