London
CNN
–
The hip-hop Ireland trio knee relationship is being investigated by British counterterrorism police after a video was revealed that allegedly shows a band seeking to kill politicians and scream “Hezbollah on Hamas.”
It came after a group of critics of Israeli war voices in Gaza attacked pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel messages at the Coachella Music Festival last month.
The British police investigation follows widespread criticism of the band’s alleged comments, with some of their upcoming gigs being cancelled. Some lawmakers are also asking Glastonbury organizers to drop their kneecaps from next month’s festival lineup.
Meanwhile, dozens of musicians and artists have signed an open letter in support of the group’s right to freedom of expression.
The footage has been circulating online recently, with one of the members of the group screaming “Hamas, Up Hezbollah” appearing to be screaming last November. Apart from that, the November 2023 video appears to show one member of a group from Northern Ireland, saying, “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. I’ll kill a local MP.” Tory is another conservative word, and MP is an abbreviation for members of parliament. Over the past decade, two British MPs – Joe Cox and David Ames, have been killed.
Kneecap apologized to Cox and Amess’ families. He has never supported Hamas or Hezbollah and has said the footage circulated online was “deliberately removed from all contexts” as part of a “smear campaign” following criticism of Israel and the US over the war in Gaza.
London Metropolitan Police said in a statement Thursday that it was aware of the footage and that counter-terrorism officials were investigating it.
“Both videos were featured in the Counterterrorism Internet Referral Unit, a specialist officer who determined there was a basis for further investigation into potential crimes related to both videos,” the police statement said.
Katie Ames, daughter of conservative MP David Ames, was fatally stabbed in the 2021 attack during her encounter with his constituents, but is called Kneecap’s rhetoric “aversion.”
“(It) raises a direct threat to the safety and well-being of elected officials and the democratic institutions they represent,” she said in a statement provided to PA Media News Agency.
Amess praised the lawsuits taken by law enforcement, sought to hold those who incite “violence and hatred” accountable.
“As a society, we must unite against all forms of extremism and ensure that our public spaces, including artistic and cultural venues, are not exploited to spread the message of hatred,” Amess said.
Both videos have been widely distributed online in the wake of the band’s Coachella set, where they led the crowd to chant “free Palestine,” criticising Israeli campaign in Gaza that killed more than 52,000 Palestinians there.
CNN reached out to KneeCap management for comment.
Brendan Cox, whose wife was stabbed and shot dead in 2016 and shot by far-right extremists when he met her members, told Sky News that the band’s apology was “not enough.”
“What’s clear is that it’s not a joke (about the video), it’s not out of context, it’s agitating against violence against members of Congress,” he said. Cox added that Kneecap’s comments “stomped the mark in a frankly grotesque way,” putting them on “the wrong side of people who might agree with them” on issues such as Gaza and Northern Ireland.
Since the video came on, the band’s scheduled performance string has been cancelled.
The group said on X that they would not perform at this year’s Hurricanes and South Side Festivals (two Germany’s biggest music festivals), and instead presented three concerts in Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne.
Another concert held at the Eden Project in Cornwall, southwest England, has been cancelled.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenok told ITV News on Wednesday that he believes the band should be charged for incitement. “There are people in prison saying things that aren’t as bad as Kneecap said. They’ve been avoiding justice for too long,” she told the broadcaster.
Band supporters
Others came out in favor of the group. Several artists have signed an open letter called “An attempt to achieve clear and coordinated censorship and ultimately exhaustion.”
“In a democracy, politicians and parties should not have the right to direct who will perform and not gig at music festivals and gigs that thousands of people enjoy,” read letters signed by musicians such as Pulp, Paul Weller and massive attacks.
“Kneecap is not a story. Gaza is a story. Genocide is a story,” wrote the X’s band.
Kneecap manager Daniel Lambert told Irish broadcaster RTé on Tuesday that the controversy “has nothing to do with Kneecap… about talking to the next younger band… I can’t talk about Palestine.”
