The North Irish rap trio Kneecap has canceled its American tour, originally scheduled for October, citing a “witch hunt” by the British government. One of the group’s members faces legal action for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a London concert in 2024.
“Due to the proximity of our next audience in London with the first date of the tour, and while the British government continues its witch hunt, we are forced to cancel the 15 dates of our American tour scheduled in October,” the group announced on X. They added a promise to schedule a larger tour once they win their trial.
Liam O’hanna, also known as Mo Chara, one of Kneecap’s three members, is prosecuted for “terrorist offense.” The charge stems from him covering himself with a Hezbollah flag during a 2024 concert in London. Hezbollah, an Iranian Lebanese Islamist movement, is designated a terrorist organization in the United Kingdom. Mo Chara appeared in London on Wednesday, Aug. 20, with a decision postponed to Sept. 26.
These legal troubles have already impacted the band’s tour schedule, preventing them from performing at events like Glastonbury in late June, where they had previously called Israel a “war criminal” state.
Kneecap was also barred from the Sziget festival in Budapest by the Hungarian government, a staunch ally of Israel. However, they performed under close surveillance on Sunday at the Rock en Seine festival in Saint-Cloud, west of Paris, where they again criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza. In response to the group’s participation, the city of Saint-Cloud withdrew its 40,000 euro grant to the festival, and the Île-de-France region also canceled its financial support for the 2025 edition.
The trio gained wider recognition in 2024 with their album Fine Art and a docu-fiction film titled Kneecap, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in the United States and was released in France in June. Formed in 2017, Kneecap often performs in the Irish Gaelic language and advocates for Irish reunification, viewing their language as an “anti-colonialist” statement against British rule. The group’s name itself, meaning “ball joint” in English, refers to the practice of paramilitary groups during the Northern Irish conflict who would shoot victims in the knee.
During their Sunday performance at Rock en Seine, Kneecap announced upcoming dates in Paris: September at the Trianon and November at the Elysée Montmartre.
