Kneecap's Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh charged with terror offense in U.K.

Kneecap, whose members recently served as the subjects of a semi-autobiographical film of the same name, previously stoked controversy when they used their Coachella performance to condemn Israel and express support for Palestine. Despite a number of cancelled gigs in the aftermath, the trio stood behind their principles. “This distortion is not only absurd – it is a transparent effort to derail the real conversation. All two million Palestinian people in Gaza are currently being starved to death by Israel,” the group wrote in a statement last month. “Suddenly, days after calling out the US administration at Coachella to applause and solidarity, there is an avalanche of outrage and condemnation by the political classes of Britain. The real crimes are not in our performances; the real crimes are the silence and complicity of those in power.”

At the same time, the trio claims they “do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah” and that they “condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay. We know this more than anyone, given our nation’s history.” They also wrote that they “reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever. An extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponised, as if it were a call to action.”

The band hasn’t responded to Ó hAnnaidh’s charge as of this writing. In their previous statement, however, they also insisted on the following: “Kneecap’s message has always been—and remains—one of love, inclusion, and hope. This is why our music resonates across generations, countries, classes and cultures and has brought hundreds of thousands of people to our gigs. No smear campaign will change that.”