London
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The rapper of Irish-language rap group Kneecap was greeted by hundreds of supporters waving flags and holding banners when he arrived in court on terrorist charges on Wednesday morning.
Liamógó Hannaidh, who will perform as Mo Chara, is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a UK-designated terrorist group.
London Metropolitan Police began its investigation in April after a video appeared online that allegedly featured the flag during a 2024 London gig. ÓHannaid said he didn’t support his prosecutors and called it a “distraction cardival” that deviated from the current events of Gaza.
When I arrived at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London, a scrum broke out with the photographer.
ÓHannaidh spoke to him to confirm his name, date of birth and address to the court at the beginning of the hearing.
The court has heard of legal arguments, but ÓHannaidh’s defense team is trying to abandon the lawsuit, claiming it has not been brought within the six-month legal limit.
Judge Paul Goldspring has postponed the case until September 26th, when he decides.
The 27-year-old must leave the court without entering the plea and appear at the next hearing. After leaving the court, he met a chant from his supporters, “Drop the charges now.”
The investigation began shortly after the band appeared at Coachella, a California music festival, where they predicted a message on stage about Israeli war in Gaza.
On Tuesday evening, police announced restrictions on public orders against protests in order to “prevent serious confusion,” limiting the rally to designated areas outside the courthouse.
From early Wednesday morning, a crowd of protesters gathered outside a courthouse in central London.
One supporter, Mike McCusker, 62, told CNN that he had been following Kneecap since 2019.
Kneecap, which mainly raps in Irish, has steadily built an international fanbase and praises its efforts to stimulate Irish.
The band, formed in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2017, sought to modernize their language through rap songs that portrayed decades of long sectarian conflict and trouble-raised experiences. The band’s music, loaded with references to drug and alcohol use and British government critiques, has not become strangers in the controversy for many years.
In 2024, the trio released their second studio album, “Fine Art,” and a self-titled semi-autobiographical feature film.
The band has been a longtime supporter of Palestinian rights.
Their performance at the British Music Festival Glastonbury in June was engrossed in the controversy after British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer said the group should not be allowed to perform in light of the accusations facing Ó Hannaidh.
The group is scheduled to play at several more European festivals this summer before a headline gig at London’s Wembley Arena on September 18th.
