A member of Irish rap group Kneecap was charged too late with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a flag of Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah, a London court ruled on Friday, throwing out his prosecution.
Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh — initially charged under the anglicized name Liam O’Hanna and whose stage name is Mo Chara — is alleged to have waved the flag of the banned militant group Hezbollah during a Kneecap gig in London in November 2024.
The 27-year-old was charged in May under the Terrorism Act, under which it is a criminal offence to display an article in a way which arouses reasonable suspicion that someone is a supporter of a proscribed organization.
After a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Judge Paul Goldspring ruled that Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged after the six-month limit to bring such a charge, which can only be dealt with by the magistrates’ court.
“The charge is unlawful and null and this court has no jurisdiction to try the charge,” the judge said to cheers from the public gallery.
Vince Gasparro, Canada’s parliamentary secretary, cited the case last week while announcing in a video that the Liberal government was banning Kneecap from entering Canada. The group had shows scheduled in Toronto and Vancouver in October.
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap has been banned from entering Canada due to their ‘open endorsement of terrorist organizations,’ the federal government says. Immigration lawyer Rudolf Kischer breaks down the decision.
Gasparro also said “the group have amplified political violence and publicly displayed support for terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas” and had “engaged in actions and have made statements that are contrary to Canadian values and laws that have caused deep alarm to our government.”
Kneecap said earlier this week it hadn’t received any official communication from the federal government confirming its ban from entering Canada, though ticket providers for the Toronto and Vancouver shows have already posted announcements about the cancellation, with the notice that purchasers of tickets will receive a full refund.
Kneecap’s provocative and sometimes profane pro-Palestinian messages, including at the Coachella festival in April in California, have rankled many observers. The group said in a statement after that performance that their concerns included “murdered children” in the Palestinian territories, which have occurred as Israel has waged war in Gaza after Hamas led a terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Kneecap’s scheduled autumn tour dates in the U.S. were scrapped last month.
The group has also courted controversy in Britain after video emerged of a concert two years ago in which a band member appears to say, “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.”
They apologized to the families of a Conservative lawmaker stabbed to death in 2021, and a Labour lawmaker fatally shot and stabbed in 2016.
