Irish rapper appears in UK court to face terror charges over Hezbollah flag

Westminster Magistrates’ Court to discuss whether charge against Kneecap member Mo Chara falls outside of six-month time limit

A member of Irish rap band Kneecap was due to appear in court on Wednesday after he was charged with a terror offense for allegedly supporting Hezbollah.

Liam O’Hanna, 27, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May after displaying a Hezbollah flag during a London concert in November.

The hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London is expected to hear legal arguments on whether the charge falls outside a six-month time limit, a court official confirmed.

Since Hezbollah was banned in the UK in 2019, it has been an offense to show support for the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist organization.

Kneecap has grabbed headlines for statements denouncing the war in Gaza as well as against Israel.

The hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London comes amid a growing controversy surrounding support for banned organizations.

A member of Irish band Kneecap wears a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London on November 21, 2024. (Screen grab/YouTube)

More than 700 people have been arrested, mostly at demonstrations, since the Palestine Action group was also outlawed in early July under the Terrorism Act 2000.

The government ban on Palestine Action came into force days after it took responsibility for a break-in at an air force base in southern England that caused an estimated £7.0 million ($9.3 million) of damage to two aircraft.

The group said its activists were responding to Britain’s indirect military support for Israel during the war in Gaza.

Supporting a proscribed group is a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison in the United Kingdom.

Provocative

Hundreds of fans cheered outside the central London court in June when O’Hanna made his first appearance.

Prosecutor Michael Bisgrove told the previous hearing that the case was “not about Mr O’Hanna’s support for the people of Palestine or his criticism of Israel.”

A band plays as supporters of the band Kneecap, and its singer Liam O’Hanna gather outside Westminster Magistrates’ Courts in London on August 20, 2025, where O’Hanna is set to appear charged with a terror offense. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

“He is well within his rights to voice his opinions and his solidarity,” Bisgrove said.

Instead, the prosecutor said, the case was about O’Hanna wearing and displaying “the flag of Hezbollah, a proscribed terrorist organization, while allegedly saying ‘Up Hamas, up Hezbollah.'”

The raucous punk-rap group has said the video that led to the charge was taken out of context and that the flag had been thrown onto the stage. The group also accused the prosecution of trying to silence them with the charges.

Daring provocateurs to their fans, dangerous extremists to their detractors, the group’s members rap in the Irish language as well as English.

Irish rap group Kneecap singer, Liam O’Hanna center, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on June 18, 2025, after being charged with supporting Hezbollah. (BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP)

Formed in 2017, the group is no stranger to controversy. Their lyrics are filled with references to drugs, they have repeatedly clashed with the UK’s previous Conservative government and have vocally opposed British rule in Northern Ireland.

As a result of the Hezbollah video, the group’s scheduled performances and funding were canceled in France and Hungary.

Last year, the group was catapulted to international fame by a semi-fictional film based on them that scooped multiple awards including at the Sundance festival.