A terrorism charge against one of the members of the Northern Irish rap group Kneecap was dismissed on Friday, with a London court ruling that it was brought too late.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring said that prosecutors missed the deadline to place the charge by a day, the BBC reported.
“I find that these proceedings were not instituted in the correct form, lacking the necessary [director of public prosecutions] and [attorney general] consent within the six-month statutory time limit,” Goldspring was quoted as saying.
Applause erupted in the courtroom, according to the report.
The case against band member Liam O’Hanna, 27, whose stage-name is Mo Chara, was brought on May 22, apparently six months and a day after he allegedly displayed a flag of the terrorist group Hezbollah during a performance on stage in London.
“These proceedings were instituted unlawfully and are null,” the magistrate said.
Leaving the courtroom, the rapper’s parents hugged him, saying they were “delighted” by the decision.
O’Hanna told reporters that the case against him “was never about terrorism—a word used by your government to discredit people you oppress. It was always about Gaza, about what happens if you dare to speak up. Your attempts to silence us have failed because we’re right and you’re wrong,” the BBC reported.
Kneecap manager Daniel Lambert said on social media, “We have won. Liam is a free man. We said we would fight them and win. We did (Twice). Kneecap has NO charges OR convictions in ANY country, EVER.”
The charge against O’Hanna followed headlines that the band made in April for projecting “F**k Israel, free Palestine” at the Coachella music festival in California. The festival’s organizers cut the livestream of the performance, Kneecap claimed at the time.
In addition, two controversial videos resurfaced online on April 22. One shows a band member shouting, “The only good Tory is a dead Tory” and “Kill your local MP.” In the other, a performer—alleged to be O’Hanna—is seen apparently wearing a Hezbollah flag and shouting, “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah.”
The group had canceled its 15-concert October U.S. tour amid the court case, calling it a “witch-hunt” on Instagram.
