Kneecap have been barred from entering Canada, Vince Gasparro, the country’s parliamentary secretary for combating crime, announced in a video on social media today (September 19). Gasparro accused the Irish rap trio of amplifying political violence and displaying antisemitic symbols, alluding to the alleged shows of support for Hezbollah and Hamas for which bandmember Mo Chara is awaiting trial in the United Kingdom. (Kneecap have said they do not support either organization.) The band responded in a statement that it would pursue legal action against Gasparro for his “wholly untrue and deeply malicious” comments and reaffirmed its support for the Palestinian cause.
The group’s statement continued, “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.”
In a separate message to fans, the band accused several pro-Israel lobby groups of using misinformation to influence the Canadian government, claiming there was no legal basis to stop them entering the country. “We have played in Canada many times with zero issues and a message of solidarity and love,” Kneecap said.
Kneecap had been due to play two nights apiece in Toronto and Vancouver. Today’s development follows the cancellation of their U.S. tour, which they attributed to Chara’s next court date on September 25. Before that, the trio’s show at a festival in Budapest was canceled after Hungary’s far-right government became the first to bar their entry. The group announced this month that it would livestream a concert for North American fans on October 10.
