Irish-language rap group Kneecap have announced a surprise London show, just hours after one of their members was charged with a terror offence.
Liam O’Hanna, or Liam Og O Hannaidh, was charged with displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed terrorist organisation, at a concert in London last November, the Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday.
Just hours later, Kneecap announced on their Instagram account that “we’re back”, adding that they would perform at the 100 Club on Oxford Street, London, on Thursday night.
Their show has since completely sold out with 2,000 on the waiting list.
Kneecap have been at the centre of controversy for weeks and have been investigated by the Metropolitan Police’s counter terror team.
They have apologised to for saying “up hamas, up hezbollah” and “The only good Tory is a dead Tory“ and stated that footage of the incident at their concert had been “exploited and weaponised”, adding that they’ve “never supported” Hamas or Hezbollah.
The rappers had gigs cancelled after the footage resurfaced and politicians like Kemi Badenoch and Keir Starmer pushed for Kneecap to have their music censored by advocating for them to dropped from the Glastonbury Festival line-up.
The group from Belfast in Northern Ireland is still set to headline Wide Awake Festival in south London on Friday.
In response to O’Hanna being charged, Kneecap said that they “deny this ‘offence’ and will vehemently defend ourselves” and branded it “political policing” in a bid to “silence voices of compassion”.
The charge came after counter-terror police assessed a video said to be from a Kneecap concert.
In the footage, O’Hanna is allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London, on 21 November last year.
Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command were made aware of a video circulating online on 22 April and an investigation led to the Crown Prosecution Service authorising the charge, the force said.
O’Hanna – who performs under the stage name Mo Chara – is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 18 June.
