Kneecap Rapper Mo Chara’s U.K. Terror Case Thrown Out Over Technical Error

The terrorism case against Belfast rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, known by his stage name Mo Chara of the group Kneecap, has been dismissed by a UK court. At Woolwich Crown Court, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring ruled the prosecution unlawful, as it had failed to meet a strict six-month statutory deadline for filing charges. The initial allegation claimed that during a November concert in London, Ó hAnnaidh had displayed a flag linked to the banned group Hezbollah.

This legal collapse resulted from a procedural dispute over whether proper consent for the charge was secured before the court requisition was issued, a matter debated in a hearing on August 20. The investigation by the Metropolitan Police was reportedly triggered by video footage from the band's performance at the O2 Kentish Town Forum, a prominent 2,300-capacity venue that has hosted acts from Bob Dylan to Arctic Monkeys. The probe gained momentum after Kneecap used their platform at California's Coachella festival to criticize Israel's military operations in Gaza. An independent legal analyst observed that the dismissal on a technicality sidestepped a potentially explosive trial testing the limits of political speech in artistic performance.

Following the ruling, the band's manager, Daniel Lambert, celebrated on social media, proclaiming "We have won!!!!!!" and condemning what he termed "political policing." This victory comes amid heightened attention on the group in the UK. Shortly after Ó hAnnaidh's initial court appearance in June, the BBC opted not to air Kneecap's celebrated Glastonbury Festival set live. During that performance, fellow band member Móglaí Bap referenced the case, connecting it to a broader historical narrative of perceived injustice against Irish people within the British legal system.

Kneecap, whose rise was dramatized in their self-titled, BAFTA-winning 2023 film, has been vocally critical of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, which began after the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. The trio has consistently denied supporting Hamas or Hezbollah, asserting that the terrorism charge was a politically driven distraction from what they describe as "war crimes that the British state support." They argue that video evidence from their London show was intentionally misinterpreted as part of a "coordinated smear campaign." This stance has drawn strong reactions, including from public figures like Sharon Osbourne, who called for the revocation of the band's U.S. visas after their Coachella performance. Kneecap maintains a clear distinction, arguing that advocating for Palestinian human rights is fundamentally different from endorsing terrorist organizations.