‘This Is a Carnival of Distraction’

The concert in question took place at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town in London, on Nov. 21, 2024. In the video that has circulated, the Irish rap trio can be heard yelling “up Hamas, up Hezbollah,” as well as telling the crowd of conservative British politicians, “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” Both Hamas and Hezbollah are banned in the U.K., and it is a crime to show support for them.

Following news of the investigation, Kneecap released a statement, “Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah,” and said the video in question was “an extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponized, as if it were a call to action.”

Ó hAnnaidh was sent the terror offense charge via mail. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 18.

Kneecap have been strong supporters of Palestine throughout their career, drawing parallels between the oppression of the Irish people by England with the oppression of Palestinian people by Israel. During their set at Coachella in April, the band shared pro-Palestine statements on stage, resulting in an expected backlash.

At the close of their early evening set, Kneecap broadcast three screens of text, which they reshared on social media with the caption, “Some uncensored messaging to Coachella 🤝🇵🇸.” The first message read “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” followed by “It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes” and a final screen reading, “Fuck Israel. Free Palestine.”

Last year, Kneecap told Rolling Stone that “because of where we’re from, everything has to be about politics,” noting their Northern Ireland origins. “We’re a band, for fuck’s sake. We make music. Obviously, we do things that are political. But I worry that just because we’re a band from Belfast that raps in Irish, any kind of political crisis, they’re like, ‘Oh, let’s fucking ask Kneecap what they think,’” Mo Chara said.

He made their stance clear: “ It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from. Just because we rap in Irish and might not align with your political views — we can be friends with people that we don’t align with politically.”