A member of the Irish rap band Kneecap was charged with a terrorism offense for displaying a flag in support of the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, British police said on Wednesday.
Liam O'Hanna, whose stage name is Mo Chara, showed the flag during one of the band's shows in London in November, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. The flag was allegedly displayed at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London, on 21 November last year.
It said O'Hanna, 27, displayed the flag "in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organization," in this case identified as Hezbollah.
Kneecap's management team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
O'Hanna is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on June 18.
Kneecap's 'violent rhetoric'
The arrest follows promises of a police investigation as a result of a video surfacing where the band was seen shouting "up Hamas, up Hezbollah" and calling for the deaths of British Members of Parliament. “The only good Tory is a dead Tory,” a band member shouted to crowds, along with the demand to “kill your local MP.”
The daughter of Sir David Amess, an MP murdered by Islamic State, demanded an apology following Kneecap's comments and said she was "absolutely gobsmacked at the stupidity of somebody or a group of people being in the public eye and saying such dangerous, violent rhetoric."
She told BBC News that it was “just beyond belief that human beings would speak like that in this day and age and it is extremely dangerous."
A UK government spokesman told Euronews "We unequivocally condemn threatening remarks made towards any individual. Political intimidation and abuse must have no place in our society. We recognise the chilling effect that harassment and intimidation of elected representatives can have on our democracy.”
The band later apologized for their statements on X.
"Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah," they said on X. "We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay. We know this more than anyone, given our nation's history."