A member of Northern Irish rap trio Kneecap has been charged with a terrorist offence for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a London gig last year.
According to the Metropolitan Police, Liam O’Hanna has been charged with displaying a flag at the Kentish Town Forum in November last year “in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter” of Hezbollah.
Footage of the group seemingly endorsing both Hezbollah and Hamas during a show last year surfaced in the wake of their controversial performance at Coachella where they displayed strongly pro-Palestine and anti-Israel content. They subsequently issued a statement clarifying that they do not support either organisation, both of which have been defined as ‘proscribed international terrorist groups’ by the UK government.
Those controversies prompted a police investigation, as well as calls from some quarters for venues and festivals to cancel upcoming performances by the group.
Those calls have reportedly led to a number of music industry execs sending a letter to the organisers of three festivals, including Glastonbury, urging them to axe Kneecap from their line-ups. Which has in turn led to the group’s lawyers threatening legal action, telling the execs behind that letter “we cannot allow false statements to be asserted dressed up as statements of fact”.
Kneecap have long courted controversy with the outspoken politics of their creative output. Their Coachella set sparked strong opinions on both sides of the debate around the Gaza conflict, with some strongly commending them for using their platform in that way, while others strongly criticised the group’s position and messaging.
Critics subsequently leapt on the footage of the group shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” at a show last year, and a recording of another gig where one member declared that “the only good Tory is a dead Tory - kill your local MP”. In their subsequent statement confirming they don’t actually support Hamas or Hezbollah, they also insisted they would never actually “incite violence against any MP or individual”.
In the UK, because Hamas and Hezbollah are formally proscribed as international terrorist groups, publicly supporting either organisation can result in a prosecution under the Terrorism Act 2000. Government guidance on that act says it is a criminal offence to “invite support for a proscribed organisation” or “express an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organisation, reckless as to whether a person to whom the expression is directed will be encouraged to support a proscribed organisation”.
Confirming O’Hanna had now been charged in relation to the London Forum gig, the Metropolitan Police said, “Officers from the Met’s counter-terrorism command were made aware on Tuesday 22 April of an online video from the event. An investigation was carried out, which led to the Crown Prosecution Service authorising the charge”.
O’Hanna simply being charged with a terrorist offence could negatively impact on Kneecap, in the short term at least. Critics are likely to use the charge to put further pressure on venues and festivals to cancel the group’s performances, and it could also impact on visa applications, especially in the US.
Various festivals are already being pressured by Kneecap’s critics, including within the music industry and the political community, to remove the group from their line-ups.
According to the Daily Mail, some of those industry critics have now sent a formal letter to three festivals, including Glastonbury, urging them to cancel their respective Kneecap bookings. That letter has been leaked to the group themselves who are now threatening legal action, based on the claim that the correspondence includes “untrue and defamatory” statements.
The Mail reports that Kneecap’s lawyers have now contacted the people behind that letter stating, “your correspondence seeks to monopolise your status within the industry to impose direct and concerted pressure on Glastonbury to restrict freedom of expression”.
“Such a direct and coordinated approach” the lawyers add, “seeks to create a chilling effect upon the wider music industry whereby those who hold opposing views will seek to impose their own view on the wider industry”.
Of course, by threatening legal action over the letter, the industry execs behind it could argue that Kneecap are infringing on their freedom of expression. The lawyers allude to that in their correspondence.
“Whilst our clients feel particularly strongly about the freedom of expression”, they write, “we cannot allow false statements to be asserted dressed up as statements of fact”.
To that end, they go on, “we write to put you on notice that we are now formally instructed to commence high court civil proceedings for damages for the damage you have inflicted on our client’s reputation”.
However, those proceedings will not go ahead if the industry execs behind the letter issue “an immediate and unequivocal apology”.