Kneecap have vowed to "vehemently defend themselves" after one of their members was slapped with a terror charge.
Liam &Ocute;g &Ocute; hAnnaidh, 27, was charged with a terror offence by the Metropolitan Police on Wednesday for "displaying a flag in support of proscribed organisation Hezbollah" during a gig at the O2 Forum Kentish Town in north London on 21 November 2024.
In response to the charge, the Irish rap trio accused the British government of focusing on them instead of the situation in Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
"We deny this 'offence' and will vehemently defend ourselves. This is political policing. This is a carnival of distraction. We are not the story," they wrote. "We are on the right side of history. You are not. We will fight you in court. We will win."
&Ocute; hAnnaidh, who was charged under the name Liam O'Hanna, is scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 18 June.
The group has sparked widespread controversy in recent months over their onstage antics. The Met Police launched an investigation into the trio over online videos showing them calling for the death of British MPs and chanting "up Hamas, up Hezbollah".
According to BBC News, the police were made aware of a video from November's gig on 22 April and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) subsequently authorised the terror charge.
Kneecap, also featuring members Naoise &Ocute; Cairealláin and J.J. &Ocute; Dochartaigh, have insisted the video was taken out of context and they didn't express support for those organisations.
A number of the band's gigs were cancelled over the videos as well as their controversial set at California's Coachella festival, in which they displayed messages about the conflict in the Middle East.
The trio, who perform under the stage names Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí, formed in 2017 and reached a new level of fame last year with their semi-autobiographical film Kneecap, which won a BAFTA in February.
