Kneecap cancels US tour dates to fight UK terrorism charges

Pro-Palestinian Irish band Kneecap announced on Monday that they are cancelling all 15 of their sold-out US tour dates due to an ongoing court case in the UK.

The rap trio said they would refund fans and organise an “even bigger tour” once they win their court case, labelling it a “witch-hunt” by the British government.  

The Northern Irish band were due to begin the US leg of their tour on 1 October. Still, they said they would have to cancel due to the proximity of their next UK court hearing on 26 September after British police charged band member Liam Og O hAnnaidh for allegedly holding a Hezbollah flag during a concert at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town in November.

Og O hAnnaidh - also known by his stage name Mo Chara - was charged by the Metropolitan Police under the Terrorism Act in May.

The UK has proscribed the Lebanese group Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation, which means support for the group is illegal. 

The band says that the UK brought charges against them because they expressed pro-Palestine views at the music festival Coachella in April in California. 

“Today, the truth was outed. This was a rushed prosecution after the Coachella performance [in California] where Kneecap did not shy away from speaking truth to power. Oppression fears freedom of expression," a spokesperson for the group said after Mo Chara’s first court appearance in June.

The band made headlines at the annual Coachella festival after they criticised Israel for “committing genocide” against the Palestinian people.

The band said during the festival that genocide is “being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes”, while leading chants of “Free Palestine”.

X Factor judge Sharon Osborne called for the band’s US visas to be revoked afterwards, while booking agents Independent Artist Group parted ways with Kneecap in April after their Coachella performance.

Won't back down

Despite pressure from French officials and pro-Israel lobbying groups to drop what they claimed was political messaging ahead of a performance at France’s Rock en Seine festival on Sunday, Kneecap used their set to condemn Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.

They opened their performance in Saint-Cloud, near Paris, with chants of “Free, free Palestine!” - drawing cheers from thousands of supporters wearing keffiyehs and Irish football shirts, the AFP reported.

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French authorities withdrew tens of thousands of dollars in subsidies from the festival after organisers refused to remove the Belfast-based group from the lineup. The municipality of Saint-Cloud withdrew $47,000 in subsidies from the festival for the first time, while the Ile-de-France region, which includes Paris, also cancelled its funding.

Kneecap, which is known for its pro-Palestinian stance and criticism of British imperialism, have faced bans and charges over previous shows.

In June, they labelled Israel “war criminals” during a Glastonbury performance.

Hungary, one of Israel's strongest backers in the European Union, barred them from entering the country to play at the Sziget Festival in August.

Kneecap’s music combines rap with political activism and seeks to challenge political authority and highlight social injustices.