British police have charged Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, a member of the Irish rap group Kneecap, with a terrorism offence for allegedly waving a flag in support of Hezbollah at a concert in London.
Although the gig took place in November last year, Metropolitan Police were not made aware of the incident until April when a video surfaced online.
In a statement, police said the 27-year-old displayed the flag "in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation", in this case, Hezbollah.
Mr Ó hAnnaidh, whose stage name is Mo Chara, was charged under the Anglicised version of his name, Liam O'Hanna, and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on June 18.
Kneecap rap in Irish and English and advocate for Irish republicanism and the greater use of the Irish language in Northern Ireland.
Band already a focus of controversy
Earlier this month, the police said they would investigate online videos allegedly showing the band calling for the death of British MPs and shouting "up Hamas, up Hezbollah".
Both Hamas and Hezbollah are banned in the UK, and it is a crime to show support for them.
After the investigation was announced, Kneecap said it had "never supported Hamas or Hezbollah".
The band also accused "establishment figures" of taking comments out of context to "manufacture moral hysteria".
Just last month, Kneecap performed at Coachella, where the trio's pro-Palestine messaging was cut from the festival's live stream.
Messages including "f*** Israel" and "free Palestine" were projected on the screen of the festival's Sonora Stage.
Following this, the group was dropped by its sponsor and booking agent, and former X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne called for the musicians' US work visas to be revoked.
Since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and Israel's war on Gaza, Kneecap has been vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause.
The group has equated the struggles of the Irish under British colonial rule to that of Palestinians under the rule of Israel.
A number of gigs featuring the band have been called off due to its stance.
Some British politicians have called on organisers of next month's Glastonbury Festival to scrap the hip hop group's planned performance.
Police are still investigating footage from another Kneecap concert in November 2023.
ABC with wires
