Videos of the Northern Ireland rap trio knee skin, allegedly seeking the death of a British lawmaker, have been evaluated by counterterrorism police.
A video of the band appeared at the November 2023 gig, and one person from Kneecap said, “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. I’ll kill a local MP.”
Earlier in the week, footage of another gig appeared in November last year. This was a performance at the Kentish Town Forum, when members of the band screamed “Hamas, Uphezbollah,” and the Hezbollah flag appeared to be displayed.
Hamas and Hezbollah are both banned in the UK and expressing support for them is a crime.
On Sunday, a Metropolitan police spokesman said: “We recognized the video on April 22, which is believed to be from the November 2024 event, and were referred to the Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit for evaluation, and determined whether a police investigation was necessary.
“We’ve also been recognized in another video from the November 2023 event.”
He also said “the unit is evaluating both to determine whether further police investigations are needed.”
The Counterterrorism Internet Introduction Unit (CTIRU) is a national terrorism police unit based within Met’s counterterrorism command, dedicated to identifying terrorist and extremist material online.
If the material believes it could violate UK law, police will conduct an investigation.
Two lawmakers have been killed in the past decade. The death of Labour MP Joe Cox in 2016 led to additional security measures being put into place for all members of the Congress.
Further reviews were made in 2021 after the death of conservative Sir David Ames after holding surgery in the West Southend constituency.
A British government spokesman said:
“Political intimidation and abuse should not have a place in our society. We recognize the calm effects that harassment and threats from elected representatives can have on our democracy.
“All reports of threats, harassment and threats are taken very seriously. We work with the police and Congress to do our best to crack down on threats to elected officials.”
After former X-Factor Judge Sharon Osborne, and after asking for the cancellation of Kneecap’s US working visa with support for Palestine during the Gaza War at US Festival Coachella, the band was dropped by the Independent Artist Group (IAG), which is current sponsor and booking agents.
The visas held by band members are understood to be no longer valid and are in the process of securing new sponsors ahead of the October sell-out tour in North America.
Coachella read messages read, “Israel commits genocide against the Palestinian people,” “enabled by Israel and the US government that provides funds despite war crimes,” and “Fuck Israel.”
On Tuesday, Osborne called the Coachella image “an anti-Israel message and predictions of hate speech.”
The music manager and wife of Ozzy Osbourne, the star of Black Sabbath, wrote about X:
Knecap, made up of Liam ógóhannaidh, naoise ócaireallain and Jjódo chartaight, claimed on social media that it was “facing a coordinated smear campaign,” and that their show had previously “called” a conflict in Gaza.
They also appeared to suggest legal action against “malicious efforts.”
Earlier in the week, Kneecap manager Daniel Lambert said the band had been threatened with “severe” death after Coachella.
