Kneecap accuse Met of "political policing" following Mo Chara terrorism charge
Mo Chara, real name Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, was charged with allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag during a performance in London last year.
Kneecap have issued a statement criticising the Metropolitan Police, after the force charged one of the group's members with a terror offence yesterday (May 21).
Mo Chara, real name Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, was charged under the UK Terrorism Act for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag during a performance at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London, last November.
In the statement posted on Twitter today (May 22), Kneecap said they "deny the offence" and will "vehemently defend" themselves against the charges.
"This is political policing," the statement continues. "This is a carnival of distraction. We are not the story. Genocide is. As they profit from genocide they use an 'anti-terror law' against us for displaying a flag thrown on stage."
"A charge not serious enough to even warrant their 'crown court', instead a court that doesn't have a jury. What's the objective?"
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) May" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/KNEECAPCEOL/status/19254337256... 22, 2025
The statement continues to allege that the charge brought against Mo Chara has been created to "restrict our ability to travel" and "prevent us speaking to young people across the world".
The charge comes after officers from the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) announced last month that they were launching an investigation into the Irish rap trio over footage from two performances.
In a clip from the same performance, a member of Kneecap could allegedly be heard shouting "Up Hamas, up Hezbollah”; both Hamas and Hezbollah are regarded as banned terrorist organisations in the UK.
Another clip, which allegedly captured a member of Kneecap shouting "Kill your local MP" during a performance in 2023 was also investigated — resulting in calls from UK political leaders to have the trio banned from festivals this summer.
Last month, Kneecap issued a statement apologising to the families of murdered MPs Jo Cox and David Amess following the backlash, while denying their support for Hamas and Hezbollah.
Despite this, they insisted that the investigation against them was part of a "smear campaign" following criticism of pro-Palestine messaging displayed during their Coachella performance last month.
In a statement seen by The Guardian, the Met Police said the charges were brought against Chara for allegedly displaying the flag “in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation."
Mo Chara is set to appear at Westminster magistrates court on June 18.
Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter.
