Kneecap's Liam O'Hanna to appear in court charged with terrorism offence

Kneecap star Liam O'Hanna will be appearing at Westminster Magistrates Court today charged with a terrorism offence.
The Belfast rapper, 27, performs under the stage name Mo Char but is also known as Liam Og O Hannaidh. He has been charged with a terrorism offence relating to displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London, on November 21 last year, the Metropolitan Police said.
In a statement earlier this year, the Met said that the flag was displayed "in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation".
Northern Irish rap trio Kneecap shared a joint statement days later denying the offence, claiming it was "political policing" and saying that they will "vehemently defend" themselves.
A throng of fans and protesters have appeared outside Westminster Magistrates Court in support of Kneecap star Liam O'Hanna.
Placards with the words "DEFEND KNEECAP - Drop the charges - Freedom for Palestine" were held up by many, with others demanding "FREE MO CHARA." Others declared: "GUILTY PLEA? NO THANKS."
Some sported t-shirts with both the Palestinian and Irish flags, stating: "KNEECAP - FREE SPEECH, FREE PALESTINE."
Pressure has been mounting for their slot at Glastonbury next week to be axed following the charges.
A number of their gigs have been cancelled since the Met Police's investigation into the Northern Irish trio, including an appearance at trhe Eden Project and Scotland's TRNSMT festival.
A spokesman for Police Scotland said at the time: "Officers have highlighted the potential reaction of such a large audience to this band would require a significant policing operation in order to support the delivery of a safe event."
However, experts have suggested that it is unlikely that their set at Glastonbury will be cancelled due to the festival's stance on being open regarding political issues, with speakers from both ends of the political spectrum able to voice their opinions in area Left Field. Musicians and artists often freely voice their opinions - with Banksy releasing a migrant life raft into the crowd during Idles' set last year.
Yet, Glastonbury's broadcaster - the BBC - may decide not to air their performance in a bid to remain impartial.
Following Liam O'Hanna's terrorism charge, Kneecap vowed to 'fight' in a strongly-worded statement on Instagram as they strongly denied the allegations.
The band said on May 22: "14,000 babies are about to die of starvation in Gaza, with food sent by the world sitting on the other side of a wall, and once again, the British establishment is focused on us.
"We deny this 'offence' and will vehemently defend ourselves. This is political policing. This is a carnival of distraction. We are not the story. Genocide is. As they profit from genocide, they use an 'anti-terror law' against us for displaying a flag thrown on stage.
"A charge not serious enough to even warrant their 'crown court', instead a court that doesn't have a jury. What's the objective? To restrict our travel ability. To prevent us speaking to young people across the world. To silence voices of compassion. To prosecute artists who dare to speak out.
"Instead of defending innocent people, or the principles of international law they claim to uphold, the powerful in Britain have abetted slaughter and famine in Gaza, just as they did in Ireland for centuries. Then, like now, they claim justification. The IDF units they arm and fly spy plane missions for are the real terrorists, the whole world can see it.
"We stand proudly with the people. You stand complicit with the war criminals. We are on the right side of history. You are not. We will fight you in court. We will win. Free Palestine."
Counter-terror police began conducting an investigation into Kneecap in April after online videos allegedly showed the Northern Irish rap trio calling for the death of British MPs and shouting 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah' during a music event in London in November 2023.
Prior to the charges, Kneecap addressed the videos and in a statement said they rejected "any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever." They stated that "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 trio also - made up of members Liam Og O Hannaigh (Mo Chara), JJ O'Dochartaigh (DJ Provai), and Naoise O Caireallain (Moglai Bap) - added at the time: "To the Amess and Cox families, we send our heartfelt apologies, we never intended to cause you hurt."
Liam O'Hanna was subsequently charged with a terrorism offence in May relating to displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in London last November. The artist was charged with displaying a flag at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, North London, on November 21, 'in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation', it said.
The force added: 'Officers from the Met's counter terrorism command were made aware on Tuesday April 22 of an online video from the event. An investigation was carried out, which led to the Crown Prosecution Service authorising the above charge.'

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