Kneecap respond to UKIP’s threat to “permenantly deport” the group
Kneecap have responded to a tweet from the UK Independence Party (UKIP), who promise supporters that they will deport the rappers should they get into government.
On May 27th, the right-wing party UKIP took to X to post an infographic that read, “Under a UKIP government, hate groups like ‘Kneecap’ would be permanently removed from the United Kingdom.” The caption elaborated that, “They will be given a choice: voluntarily leave and never return, or we will deport you to somewhere like North Korea.”
The Irish rap trio are currently facing a terror charge after allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag, which is a banned terror group in the UK, at a London show. Kneecap reposted the UKIP infographic, with the simple correction: “The ‘North of Korea'”.
Their correction shows the group advising the party to avoid the implication of a separate state. Using “the North of Korea”, as Kneecap encourages, can acknowledge the division without explicitly endorsing the North’s claim to the peninsula.
There are evident echoes across Irish history here, too. The partition of Ireland in 1920 saw Northern Ireland incorporated into the United Kingdom, and Southern Ireland as a separate state. Kneecap hail from Belfast in Northern Ireland, and are known for a desire for Irish reunification. Their response to the UK reiterates that stance.
Following the charge, the group released a statement that promises that they will “vehemently defend” themselves in court. “This is political policing. This is a carnival of distraction. We are not the story. Genocide is. As they profit from genocide, they use an ‘anti-terror law’ against us for displaying a flag thrown on stage,” the statement also read.
The group have previously sparred with Kemi Badenoch, who has previously stated that “Kneecap’s glorification of terrorism and anti-British hatred has no place in our society.”
Badenoch also said the case “demands prosecution”.
The band’s defiant attitude was also seen at their headline Wide Awake set, which was their first since their Coachella performance. During the set, the band promised to continue fighting for a free Palestine and committed themselves to fighting the terror charge.
Kneecap also played a surprise set on May 22nd at London’s The 100 Club, which was attended by police officers. Their message was largely the same at that smaller show, too: “We stand proudly with the people. You stand complicit with the war criminals. We are on the right side of history. You are not. We will fight you in your court. We will win. Free Palestine.”
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