Kneecap’s Mo Chara “absolutely” considering legal case against British state after terror charge dropped

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Kneecap’s Mo Chara “absolutely” considering legal case against British state after terror charge dropped

Kneecap’s Mo Chara has said he is “absolutely” considering legal action against the British state after his terror charged was dropped last week.

The Belfast rapper – real name Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – had been charged over an alleged incident where he reportedly displayed a Hezbollah flag during a show in London last November and shouted “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”. Both are listed as proscribed terrorist organisations by the UK government.

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On Friday (September 26), the case was thrown out on a technicality relating to the way in which it was brought about, with the Chief Magistrate telling the court that the charge against Ó hAnnaidh was “unlawful” and “null”.

Now, Mo Chara has given his first interview about the ordeal, telling Virgin Media that he is “absolutely” considering taking legal action himself against the British state, while telling the Prime Minister: “Better luck next time”.

“Even if it had’ve went to court, we would’ve won anyway,” Mo Chara said. “It was a complete circus, it was a carnival, a distraction from what’s actually going on. And the more that they dragged this out, the longer they could keep this in the news, rather than talk about the actual issues.”

“As our manager Dan Lambert said on the podium today, 87 people were murdered, entire families were murdered yesterday,” he added, referring to the ongoing crisis in Gaza, a cause the band have consistently championed throughout their legal challenges.

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“Obviously for me personally, it’s just a relief that it’s finished,” he said, describing the experience as “a bit of a nightmare”, although he added: “If we’re talking comparisons, I’ll get over it. There’s a lot of stuff that’s irreparable in Gaza already. I’ll bounce back.”

He also went out of his way to praise and thank the crowds of fans and supporters that gathered outside Woolwich Crown Court last week to support him, before quipping: “I don’t think we’re doing much for Irish stereotypes though. Like, why is nobody working during the day? Why are they all outside the court?”

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Addressing the damage to his reputation and the loss of earnings that the case has had on him and his career, he said legal action against the British state is “definitely something we’re going to look into.”

In August, Kneecap were forced to cancel their sold-out US headline tour due to the “close proximity of our next court hearing” to the start of the tour.

“With every show fully sold out, this is news we are sad to deliver. But once we win our court case, which we will, we promise to embark on an even bigger tour to all you great heads.”

Kneecap have consistently denied supporting either Hamas or Hezbollah, and said that they do not incite or condone violence. They have also argued that the footage at the UK shows had been taken out of context, and described the legal action as a “carnival of distraction”.

Kneecap have defended their “satirical” live sets, arguing: “It’s not our job to tell people what’s a joke and what’s not.” Kneecap subsequently claimed that the government and their critics “want to make us seem small”. They’ve also denied accusations of anti-Semitism and inciting violence, claiming that “those attacking us want to silence criticism of a mass slaughter”.

In a statement posted after the case was thrown out of court, Mo Chara wrote: “As people from Ireland we know oppression, colonialism, famine and genocide. We have suffered and still suffer under ‘your empire’. Your attempts to silence us have failed, because we are right, and you are wrong. We will not be silent.”

He continued: “We said we would fight you in your court and we would win. We have. If anyone on this planet is guilty of terrorism, it is the British state.

“Free Palestine! Tiocfaidh ár lá.”

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