Kneecap’s Mo Chara was met by hundreds of fans and protesters today (June 18) as he appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on terror charges.
27-year-old Chara was charged over an alleged incident last November – where he displayed a Hezbollah flag during a Kneecap show. Hezbollah is listed as a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK.
The band responded to the charge at the time by denying any offence and saying: “This is a carnival of distraction. We are not the story. Genocide is.”
After jokingly telling their fans to gather at Westminster with “a big bag of ket”, it now seems as though the Irish trio were listened to… maybe without the “big bag of ket” though.
Huge crowds have been seen gathering outside the Magistrates Court this morning, donning Palestine flags, signs, and a platform for activists to speak to the crowds. One fan of the group that was seen in the crowd was none other than Paul Weller, who has shown his support for Kneecap throughout this whole ordeal.
The former Jam frontman joined a group of over 40 artists to sign an open letter which rallied “against the attempts to silence Kneecap for speaking out for Gaza.”
Weller and the rest of the crowds were heard singing Irish folk songs and holding signs that read ‘Free Palestine’, ‘Free Mo Chara’, and ‘Defend Kneecap: Drop The Charges’.
Inside the court, very little happened. Chara simply confirmed his name, date of birth and address before being released on unconditional bail and told to return to court on August 20.
A spokesperson for the band then took to the mic to address the hundreds of fans and protesters in attendance. He hit out at the backlash Kneecap has received for showing support to Palestine, saying: “The reality is Kneecap will stand up against political oppression, to defend their rights and the rights of artists and people all around the world. It is not new for Irish people to be prosecuted under special powers for terrorism acts.”
There were also several pro-Palestine and Irish Republican activists who gave speeches – insisting that they would “be back in larger and larger numbers” and asking “Why isn’t Keir Starmer getting his door kicked through and being arrested?”.
Finally, it was Mo Chara’s bandmate – Moglai Bap – who took to the mic and spoke of the band’s upcoming performance at Glastonbury, saying: “If anybody is going to Glastonbury, you can see us there. If anybody can’t be there, we’ll be on the BBC – if anybody watches the BBC. We’ll be at Wembley in September, but most importantly ‘free, free Palestine’.”
Despite being taken off the line-up for TRNSMT Festival, Kneecap will play Glastonbury this year in what is sure to be a highlight of the weekend. The rap trio also announced their biggest headline English show to date – where they will play Wembley Arena – with tickets available here.
