A British court on Friday dismissed a terrorism charge against Irish rapper Liam Ó hAnnaidh, a member of the controversial hip-hop group Kneecap, after prosecutors failed to file the indictment within the required time frame.
The 27-year-old artist, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, had been accused of displaying a Hezbollah flag during a November 21, 2023, concert at London’s O2 Forum, an act prosecutors claimed suggested support for a proscribed terrorist organization under UK law.
The charge, filed in May, stemmed from a viral video of the performance that was reviewed by London’s Counter Terrorism Command. Authorities said the footage showed Ó hAnnaidh raising the flag “in a manner or under circumstances that give rise to reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organization,” prompting the Crown Prosecution Service to authorize charges.
But during a hearing on Friday, the judge ruled that the indictment had been filed after the six-month statutory limit for such offenses. “The charge is unlawful and null... "I find that these proceedings were not instituted in the correct form, lacking the necessary DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) and AG (Attorney General) consent within the six-month statutory time limit,” the judge said, freeing Ó hAnnaidh to cheers from supporters in the courtroom.
Following the decision, Kneecap’s manager Daniel Lambert issued a statement denouncing the prosecution. "We have won. Liam Óg is a free man. We said we would fight them and win. We did (Twice). Kneecap has NO charges OR convictions in ANY country, EVER. "Political policing has failed. Kneecap is on the right side of history. Britain is not," he wrote in a social media post.
In May, the punk-rap group responded to reports about the incident by stating, "they do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah." They claimed the video clip had been deliberately taken out of context.
Kneecap has drawn international attention this year for anti-Israel messages displayed during performances, including at the prominent Coachella music festival. Among the slogans shown on stage were: “F*** Israel, Free Palestine,” “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” and “The U.S. government arms and funds Israel despite their war crimes.”
A similar controversy erupted at Hungary’s Sziget Festival, prompting the Hungarian government to announce in July that Kneecap would be banned from entering the country over what it described as antisemitic remarks and promotion of terrorism by band members.