Kneecap rapper Mo Chara, facing UK terror charges over his pro-Palestinian activism, might soon headline a sold-out US tour

JTA – At Pier 17 in Manhattan, a three-story digital marquee recently advertised a stacked programme of shows slated throughout the northern hemisphere summer and fall.

Notably missing from the display, however, were two apparently sold-out performances in October by Irish rap group Kneecap, whose members are facing legal jeopardy in London and criticism here for their strident support of the Palestinian cause.

The New York shows, slated for 1 and 10 October, were still advertised on a screen at the Pier 17 box office, but when a box office employee was asked whether they were still planning the performance, they replied, “No comment”.

The potential uncertainty over Kneecap’s North American tour comes as one band member, Mo Chara, faces terrorism charges in London over wearing a Hezbollah flag during a performance in London in November 2024. In April, Kneecap performed at the Coachella musical festival in California’s Colorado Desert, where they displayed the words “F–k Israel Free Palestine” on stage.

Their scheduled North American tour later this year will test whether harsh anti-Israel rhetoric might disqualify artists in the eyes of concert venues wary of backlash and even a United States government eager to crack down on what it calls “Hamas sympathisers”.

Mo Chara, whose real name is Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, was released on unconditional bail last Wednesday, 18 June, at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court, meaning that he will be able to perform at the Glastonbury Festival in England this week unless the government somehow intervenes.

JTA repeatedly emailed and called the venues for the band’s 21 scheduled performances across the US and Canada this October for information on whether the shows will go on despite Mo Chara’s court battle, but none responded to the repeated inquiries.

One venue, the Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville, which has a sold-out Kneecap performance scheduled for 4 October, responded “got it”, but didn’t elaborate.

Last week, ahead of Mo Chara’s initial court appearance, the band posted a statement on X in which it asserted that it was on the “right side of history”. An Instagram post with the same message drew 350 000 “likes”.

“The British establishment is conducting a campaign against Kneecap which is to be fought in Westminster Magistrates’ Court. We are ready for this fight,” the statement read. “We are proud to have such a strong legal team with us. We are on the right side of history. You are not. We will fight in your court. We will win.”

The group also put up several billboards around London reading, “More Blacks More Dogs More Irish Mo Chara,” a reference to a sign that some London boarding houses would have put up in the 1950s barring entry to Irish people, black people, and dogs.

“We’ve plastered London with a few messages ahead of this witchhunt,” the group posted on X along with a video of the billboards. “British courts have long charged people from the north of Ireland with ‘terrorism’ for crimes never committed. We will fight them. We will win.”

The band has received support from fans and colleagues who either share its politics or defend its right to free speech. Grian Chatten, the lead singer of the Irish post-punk band Fontaines DC, took both positions in an interview with the Irish Times. Earlier this month, Fontaines DC projected the all-caps message, “Israel is committing genocide” on stage at the Primavera Sound music festival in Barcelona.

“It’s a categorical witchhunt, and that’s fairly plain to see to anyone who has a discerning eye,” Chatten said of Mo Chara’s prosecution. “I stand by their side, and I’m totally unafraid to do so. I think all of us are.”

But the rap group hasn’t gone through criticism of its politics unscathed. Last month, its planned performance on 11 July at the TRNSMT music festival in Glasgow was cancelled due to safety concerns aired by police. The group also had a performance scheduled for 4 July cancelled at Cornwall’s Eden Sessions.

Mo Chara has vehemently denied the allegations that he is a supporter of Hezbollah and Hamas or antisemitic, but rather a fierce opponent of “genocide” in Gaza. The group led chants of “free Mo Chara” at a performance last month, and has since come out with “Free Mo Chara” t-shirts. At a performance posted to the band’s X account on Thursday, 19 June, Mo Chara declared, “I’m a free man” to a loud applause from concertgoers.

After its Coachella performance, Jewish television personality Sharon Osbourne called for the Trump administration to revoke the band’s work visas in advance of its scheduled tour.

The Trump administration has made calls and moves to deport pro-Palestinian international students, describing its crackdown as an effort to combat antisemitism. Jewish groups have argued that strident criticism of Israel can be antisemitic in both intent and effect.

In the US, R&B singer Kehlani, who is a vocal critic of Israel, has had two concerts cancelled: in New York City over alleged “safety concerns”, and at Cornell University over her pro-Palestinian activism.

In response to an inquiry from JTA about whether Kneecap will receive work visas for its sold-out tour, the state department replied, “For safety reasons, we don’t comment on potential investigations.”

On Saturday, when British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was asked by The Sun if he thought Kneecap should play at Glastonbury, he replied, “No I don’t.”

“I think we need to come down really clearly on this. I won’t say too much, because there’s a court case on, but I don’t think that’s appropriate,” Starmer said.

In a post on X last Saturday, British Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch posted an article from The Times that speculated that the BBC wouldn’t exclude Kneecap from its Glastonbury coverage.

“The BBC shouldn’t be showing Kneecap propaganda,” wrote Badenoch. “One Kneecap band member is on bail, charged under the Terrorism Act. As a publicly funded platform, the BBC shouldn’t be rewarding extremism.”