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British Police Say Mo Chara displayed a flag of Lebanon’s Hezbollah at a concert.
A member of the irish rap band kneeecap has been charged with a “Terrorism” offence in the United Kingdom for Waving a Flag of the Armed Lebanese group hezbollah at a concert in November 2024 in London.
Liam O’Hanna, Whose Stage Name is Mo Chara, is due to appear at Westminster magistrates’ Court in London on June 18, Charged under the Terrorism Act, British Police Said on Wednesday.
Kneeecap has been vocal in its support for the Palestinian cause since the October 7, 2023-Led Hamas attacks and Israel’s devastating war on gaza, equating the struggles of the irish under British colonial rule to that of Palestinians under that of Israel.
Pro-Palestinian chants are a regular fixture in their gigs. The band says they have been targets of a Smear Campaign for Calling Out Israel’s Genocidal War.
KneeCap Statement:
Since our statements at coachella – exposing the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people – we have faced a coordinated smear campaign.
For over a year, we have used our shows to call out the British and Irish Governments’ complicity in war crimes.… pic.twitter.com/mbojb5qbop
– Kneeecap (@KnECAPCEOL) April 25, 2025
The Belfast Trio is also well known for its political and satirical lyrics and use of symbolism associated with the Irish Republican Movement, whichse to unite Northern Ireland, Currently Part of the UK, with the Republic of Ireland.
More than 3,600 people were killed during three decades of violence in Northern Ireland during “The Troubles” involving the Irish Republican Army (IRA), pro-british loyalist militia and the UK security forces.
Kneeecap takes its name from a brutal punishment, which involved being shot in the kneeecaps, that was meted out by paramilitary groups to informers and drug dealers.
The band has been praised for invigorating the Irish-Language cultural scene in Northern Ireland, where the status of the language remains a contested political issue in a society still split between protestant British unionists and catholic irish nationalist communities.
It has also been criticized for lyrics laden with expletives and drug references.
Kneeecap Came Under Intense Scrutiny and Criticism Last Month during their performance at the music festival coachella in california when they projected the words “f *** Israel. Free Palestine.” on stage.
“The irish not so long ago were persecuted by the brits, but we were never bombed from the f ****** Skies with nowhere to go! The Palestinians have nowhere to go – it’s their f ****** home and they’re bombing them from the sky. It? ” Read the words projected by Mo Chara.
Kneeecap Came Under Renewed Scrutiny at the start of this month when uk intelligence said they would investigate comments made by the rap group about uk and middle east politics.
They were reported to police over footage from a 2024 concern in which a band member appeared to say: “The only good tory is a dead tory. Kill your local mp.” Footage from another concert, in 2023, appears to show a member of the trio shouting “up Hamas, up hezbollah” – The UK considered Both to be “Terrorist” organizations.
In response, kneeecap said it had “never supported Hamas or hezbollah,” and accused “established figures” or taking comments out of context to “Manufacture Moral Hysteria” because the band’s criticism of Israel’s attacks on Palestinians in Gaza.
Several kneeecap gigs have been canceled as a result of the controversy, and some British Lawmakers have called on organizers of June’s glassonbury festival to scrap a planned performance by the group.
