- Music
- 26 Sep 25
Terrorism case against KNEECAP's Mo Chara thrown out
"The case ends today," said defence lawyer Darragh Mackin. "Victory to Mo Chara. Victory to KNEECAP. Victory to the freedom of expression."
KNEECAP member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, aka Mo Chara, has officially been acquitted of all charges this morning.
The terrorism case against Mo Chara was thrown out by the chief magistrate at Woolwich Crown Court over a technical error in the manner the charge against him was brought.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring told the court the charge against him was "unlawful" and "null."
Posting on X, defence lawyer Darragh Mackin said, "The prosecution case was instituted unlawfully. The case ends today. Victory to Mo Chara. Victory to Kneecap. Victory to the freedom of expression."
Mo Chara was charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly holding a Hezbollah flag at a November 2024 concert.
The band said the flag was thrown on stage and denied supporting Hezbollah. They argued that the charges are politically motivated for their criticism of Israel's occupation of Gaza and of British presence in Ireland.
Mo Chara's legal team had been seeking to have the case dismissed with the argument that the charge was filed after the six-month statutory deadline.
The Crown Prosecution Service argued that the charge was submitted on time, while the defence said it was lodged one day late.
After a hearing in June, Ó hAnnaidh was released on unconditional bail and appeared at the Westminster Magistrates' Court in London for legal arguments on August 20, which concluded with judgment reserved.
"I find that these proceedings were not instituted in the correct form, lacking the necessary DPP and AG consent within the six-month statutory time limit set by section 127," said Chief Magistrate Goldspring of his decision.
"The time limit requires consent to have been granted at the time or before the issue of the requisition. Consequently the charge is unlawful and null and this court has no jurisdiction to try the charge."
With the magistrate's judgement today, Mo Chara was not required to enter a plea to the case against him and the prosecution has fallen.
Outside of the court, Mo Chara told supporters, "We will not be silent." He also thanked his legal team and his Irish interpreter, who was present throughout the proceedings.
Later, KNEECAP posted a statement from Mo Chara on Instagram.
"This entire process was never about me, never about any threat to the public and never about 'terrorism', a word used by your government to discredit people you oppress," the statement read.
"It was always about Gaza. About what happens if you dare to speak up. As people from Ireland we know oppression, colonialism, famine and genocide. We have suffered and still suffer under 'your empire'.
"Your attempts to silence us have failed, because we are right, and you are wrong. We will not be silent. We said we would fight you in your court and we would win. We have. If anyone on this planet is guilty of terrorism, it is the British state."
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KNEECAP manager Daniel Lambert celebrated the news in a post on X, writing, "We have won!!!!!!"
"Liam Óg is a free man," Lambert said.
"We said we would fight them and win. We did. (Twice) Kneecap has NO charges OR convictions in ANY country, EVER. Political policing has failed. Kneecap is on the right side of history. Britain is not. Free Palestine."
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald also commented on the news in a post on X, writing that the charges were an attempt to "shut him up."
"Mo Chara spoke out against Israel’s genocide, for the people of Gaza, for a free Palestine," McDonald said.
"The charges were an attempt to shut him up, to silence protest. It failed. He’s free. Kneecap are not the story, Genocide is the story. Saoirse don Phalaistín!"
The Crown Prosecution Service said it was "reviewing the decision of the court carefully" and that it was possible to appeal against the decision.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said they will work with the prosecution "to understand the potential implications of this ruling for us and how that might impact on the processing of such cases in the future."
The proceedings were originally planned for the Westminster Magistrates Court where Mo Chara's previous court appearances took place, but it had been closed due to a burst water main and the location was moved to Woolwich Crown Court.
Ahead of the hearing, Irish in London for Palestine (also known as the London Irish Brigade) announced they would hold a demonstration outside of the court in support of Mo Chara. The event was set to feature a lineup of musicians and speakers. KNEECAP also encouraged fans to gather outside the courthouse to show their support.
However, the London Metropolitan Police announced yesterday they had issued an order banning demonstrators from holding an event on the premises.
The order, known as Section 14, enforces that all individuals must be removed from the surroundings of the court by the date of the hearing. Section 14 is often associated with riots and violent demonstrations, though the event planned for KNEECAP was explicitly promoted as a peaceful demonstration.
"In our view this police action is designed to try and portray support for KNEECAP as somehow troublesome, and to keep our support far away view when we arrive and depart," said KNEECAP of the order.
The London Irish Brigade announced that the demonstration would move to Woolwich Crown Court shortly after the news of the location change was released last night.
The demonstration featured musical performances from the Na Cairde Collective and Speit, along with speeches by Sinn Féin MP John Finucane, Doctor Rahmeh Al Adwan and pro-Palestine barrister Franck Magennis.
Magennis announced the charges had been dropped to the crowd at the courthouse in a video posted on Instagram by the London Irish Brigade. In the video, the news was met with cheers and shouts of "tiocfaidh ár lá."
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