Kneecap's Mo Chara says Hezbollah charge 'was all about Gaza' after UK court acquittal

The rapper of Northern Irish rap group Kneecap said a terror case against him thrown out by a UK Court on Friday was an attempt to muzzle the group's support for Gaza.

"It was always about Gaza, about what happens if you dare to speak up... Your attempts to silence us have failed, because we're right and you're wrong," Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh said in front of a crowd gathered outside a London court, which threw out a terrorism case over a technical error.

Óg Ó hAnnaidh, 27, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May after being accused of displaying a flag of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah during a London concert in November.

After a hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court, Judge Paul Goldpsring ruled that Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged after the six-month limit to bring such a charge, which can only be dealt with by the magistrates' court.

"The charge is unlawful and null and this court has no jurisdiction to try the charge," the judge said to cheers from the public gallery.

Supporters flocked to the area for the 10:00 am (0900 GMT) hearing, as hundreds did in August in a noisy, highly visible show of solidarity.

"Come and show your support outside Westminster Magistrates Court," the band posted on X earlier this week, branding the legal process a "witch-hunt".

But they warned that the Metropolitan Police had now set a new route and had "removed our supporters from anywhere close to the court entrance. This is petty in the extreme".

"There is no basis for this, both our last hearings were entirely peaceful and a loving show of solidarity," the band added.

Since the UK banned Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation in 2019, it has been an offence to show support for the group.

Óg Ó hAnnaidh had denied wrongdoing, saying in previous interviews that he did not know what the Hezbollah flag was, and that he is part of a sometimes satirical musical act not to be taken at face value.

Kneecap had also said the video that led to the charge was taken out of context.

In an interview with AFP earlier this month, Óg Ó hAnnaidh predicted the charge was "clearly going to get thrown out, because it's ridiculous".

The raucous punk-rap group, who sing in the Irish language as well as English, also issued a statement saying "they do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah."

They have seen their notoriety increase since the start of the legal proceedings, having been banned in Canada and Hungary, with some of their concerts cancelled in Germany and Austria.

The group cancelled all 15 dates of a planned US tour next month, because they fell too close to the court case.

Palestine Action arrest

Kneecap has grabbed headlines for statements denouncing Israel's war on Gaza.

The UK legal case comes amid growing controversy over support for banned organisations.

Hundreds have been arrested, mostly at demonstrations, since the Palestine Action group was outlawed in early July under anti-terrorism laws.

The government ban on Palestine Action came into force days after it took responsibility for a break-in at an air force base in southern England that caused an estimated £7 million ($9.3 million) of damage.

The group said its activists were protesting Britain's military support for Israel during its war on Gaza.

Supporting a proscribed group is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison in the UK.

Daring provocateurs to their fans, dangerous extremists to their detractors, Kneecap was formed in 2017 and is no stranger to controversy.

Its lyrics are filled with references to drugs, members have repeatedly clashed with the UK government, and they have vocally opposed British rule in Northern Ireland.

Last year, the group was catapulted to international fame by a semi-fictional film based on them that scooped multiple awards, including at the Sundance festival.

Editors note: This article was updated on 26 September 2025 at 10:25 GMT with the verdict of the court and comments from Óg Ó hAnnaidh.