Kneecap’s Liam O’Hanna has been charged with terrorism offences after he was accused of displaying a flag in support for Hezbollah at a London gig.
O’Hanna, 27, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, is alleged to have displayed the flag showing the terrorist group while the controversial Irish hip-hop group performed at the O2 Forum in Kentish town last year.
The Met Police said the rapper, from Belfast, was showing the flag ‘in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation’.
The force’s counter terror unit conducted an investigation into the event, on November 21, after they were shown a video in late April.
Hezbollah is a proscribed terror organisation, and it is a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act 2000 to ‘invite support’ for either group.
O’Hanna is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 18 June.
Kneecap, named after the paramilitary punishment of shooting someone in the knee, shot to fame at the start of the year when their fictitious anti-British film telling the story of how the band came together scooped an array of industry awards.
They are known for merging Irish and English in their music alongside politically charged and satirical lyrics. The group dress in balaclavas and promote themselves using images of petrol bombs.
The rap trio have been involved in a series of high-profile controversies in response to the war in Gaza, which has seen them banned from concerts and calls for their Glastonbury set this summer to be axed.
O’Hanna, 27, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, is alleged to have displayed the flag showing the terrorist group while the controversial Irish rap group perfromed at the O2 Forum in Kentish town last year. Pictured: O’Hanna, left, with bandmates DJ Provai and Moglai Bap
The Met Police said the rapper, from Belfast , was showing the flag ‘in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation’
O’Hanna is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 18 June. Pictured: Performing at Coachella
The trio also received criticism and censorship over its music and were in dispute with now-Tory leader Kemi Badenoch when the group launched a discrimination case.
They were blocked by the former Conservative government from receiving a grant aimed at supporting UK artists, despite their application being successful.
The Department of Business and Trade, which was headed by Ms Badenoch at the time, said they did not want to give taxpayers’ money to people who ‘oppose the United Kingdom itself’.
The group took legal action against the government, claiming the decision was discriminatory and won in November 2024, receiving £14,250 – the total amount of the original grant.
The trio donated the money to two youth organisations in Belfast, splitting it between a nationalist and a unionist area.
In 2024, the band released an eponymous debut film starring Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender which is a fictionalised retelling of how the band came together.
The film was nominated for six Baftas and took home the award for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer.
It was also among the big winners at the Irish Film and Television Academy (Ifta), scooping four awards including best director for Rich Peppiatt.
But victims of Republican and Loyalist terror atrocities later said they were appalled that vast sums of taxpayers’ and National Lottery cash was spent on the movie.
The project received £810,000 from the National Lottery in four payments via the British Film Institute.
This is a breaking story, more to follow.
