Popular Irish hip-hop/rap trio Kneecap have been banned from entering Canada by the federal government ahead of their four sold-out Canadian shows in October, two of which were planned for Toronto’s History venue. The ban comes after a series of public controversies and a terrorism charge against rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh by the UK government, which has now been thrown out due to a technical error.

Over the past few years, the group, originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, has become known for its intense and unapologetic political activism, especially regarding the ongoing genocide in Palestine.

The group, comprised of members Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, and J. J. Ó Dochartaigh, who perform under the stage names Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí, respectively, have often used their live performances as opportunities to advocate for their beliefs.

Canada’s ban

On September 19, Canada’s parliamentary secretary for combating crime, Vince Gasparro, announced on behalf of the Canadian government that Kneecap would be “ineligible” to enter Canada.

In a video statement on X, Gasparro said that Kneecap have “amplified political violence and publicly displayed support for terrorist organizations” and that “Canada stands firmly against hate speech, incitements to violence, and the glorification of terrorism.”

Kneecap promptly responded to the decision in an Instagram post, saying that Gasparro’s comments are “wholly untrue and deeply malicious,” and that Kneecap will be taking legal action against Gasparro.

Kneecap wrote, “We will be relentless in defending ourselves against baseless accusations to silence our opposition to a genocide being committed by Israel. When we beat you in court, which we will, we will donate every cent to assist some of the thousands of child amputees in Gaza.”

Terrorism charge

Kneecap were reported to counter-terrorism police by the UK-based Jewish group Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) after their sets at Coachella music festival in California last April featured messages on screens such as, “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” and “Fuck Israel, Free Palestine.”

During one of their performances, the group led the crowd in chanting “Free, free Palestine,” and Chara criticized the Israeli government for its bombing of Gaza, saying, “The Palestinians have nowhere to go. It’s their fucking home, and they’re bombing them from the skies. If you’re not calling it a genocide, what the fuck are you calling it?”

CAA also cited a concert video from November 2024 in which Chara is allegedly seen draped in a Hezbollah flag and shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah.” Hamas and Hezbollah are both classified as terrorist organizations by both the UK and Canadian governments.

Chara has said that the flag was thrown onto the stage, and in a statement on Instagram, Kneecap said that they “do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah,” and that the November concert footage was “deliberately taken out of context.”

Chara was formally charged with terrorism in May and appeared in court on August 20, where he sought to have the charge thrown out. Last Friday, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring ruled that the terrorism charge against Chara was “unlawful” and “null” due to a technical error: the November 2024 concert footage was outside of the 6-month statutory time limit required for such charges.