CNN
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The US State Department revoked a visa for members of Bob Bilan, a British rappunk group that chanted “death” against Israeli forces at British music festivals last weekend.
“The (State Department) has revoked the US visa for members of the Bob Bilan Band in light of hatred-filled tilade in Glastonbury, which leads the crowd to a hymn of death. Foreigners who praise violence and hatred are not visitors to our country.”
According to an Instagram post, the group was scheduled to go on a tour of the US in late October.
The US State Department has established an aggressive visa restriction and revocation policy on alleged support for terrorism and anti-Semitism.
The ban cried “Free Palestine, Free Palestine” before leading the crowd against Israeli forces after rapper Bobby Villain went to the third-largest Westholz stage at the Glastonbury Festival on Saturday. The video showed the rapper screaming at the microphone. “Importantly, have you ever heard of this?
The artist also performed in front of a screen that read, “The United Nations calls it genocide, the BBC calls it ‘conflict’.”
In a Sunday Instagram post, “I said what I said,” Bobby Bilan said he received “a message of both support and hatred” following the performance.
“Teaching children to speak for the changes they want and the changes they need is the only way we can make this world a better place,” the post read. “As we are old and the fire begins to fade under the suffocation of adult life and all of its responsibilities, it is very important to encourage future generations to pick up the torch that has been handed over to us.”
CNN contacted Vylan for comment.
Bob Villain’s hymn at the festival has prompted protest among British officials, with British police reviewing video footage of their set. British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer said, “There is no excuse for this kind of horrifying hate speech.”
The British Israeli Embassy said it was “deeply disturbed” at the festival by what was called “inflammatory and hateful” rhetoric.
A BBC spokesman said on Sunday that some of the comments made during Vylan’s performance were “deeply offensive.” The station has streamed the set of rappers live, but said there are no plans to make performance available on demand through the iPlayer streaming platform.
The BBC acknowledged on Monday that “in hindsight” Vylan’s performance should be drawn out of the air during performance, saying that companies “respect for freedom of expression, but stand firm in incitement to violence.”
“The anti-Semitism sentiment expressed by Bob Bilan was completely unacceptable and we had no place in our airwaves,” he added.
Prior to the five-day music festival, all eyes were in Irish hip-hop trio kNeecap. Band member Liam O’Hanna performed under the stage name Mo chara – was charged with a terrorist crime following an investigation by London’s Metropolitan Police.
The charges he denied were linked to a London gig in November 2024, and he allegedly posted the flag of Hezbollah, a prohibited terrorist organization prohibited by British law. Prior to the festival at Worthy Farm, Starmer said it was not “appropriate” for the group to perform.
While performing on the same stage on Saturday afternoon, Chala told the crowd that recent events were “stressing” but nothing compared to what the Palestinians are experiencing.
Kneecap rapper Naoise Ó Cairealláin, held under the stage name Móglaíbap, returned to Starmer’s comments on Saturday’s set.
Police in Somerset, where the festival is held, said on Monday it decided that after reviewing video and audio footage of both bands’ performances, it had “need further enquiries” and launched a criminal investigation in question.
The investigation is in an early stages, police added that authorities will “examine all appropriate laws related to hate crimes.”
