{"id":41950,"date":"2025-07-25T07:54:55","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T07:54:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/25\/kneecap-banned-from-hungary-for-posing-national-security-threat\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T07:54:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T07:54:55","slug":"kneecap-banned-from-hungary-for-posing-national-security-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/25\/kneecap-banned-from-hungary-for-posing-national-security-threat\/","title":{"rendered":"Kneecap Banned From Hungary for Posing ‘National Security Threat’"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\tKneecap\u2019s forthcoming performance in Hungary will not go ahead as the Irish band has been banned from the country for three years for posing \u201ca national security threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHungarian politician and spokesperson Zolt\u00e1n Kov\u00e1cs announced the ban<\/a> on social media on Thursday, saying Kneecap are \u201cofficially banned from entering Hungary\u2014for antisemitism and glorifying terror.\u201d <\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udeab @KneecapCEOL<\/a> are officially banned from entering Hungary\u2014for antisemitism and glorifying terror. When hate ignores the mail, we put it on a wall.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udce2 This is what we call “service by public notice.” In plain English: if you won\u2019t read the letter, you\u2019ll see it on the poster. pic.twitter.com\/K2lJ0L2mi1<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Zoltan Kovacs (@zoltanspox) July 24, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\n\tKneecap were scheduled to perform at Budapest\u2019s Sziget Festival on Aug. 11. Kov\u00e1cs said the band would not be allowed in the country because they \u201crepeatedly engage in antisemitic hate speech supporting terrorism and terrorist groups. Hungary has zero tolerance for antisemitism in any form.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tHe added, \u201cTheir planned performance posed a national security threat, and for this reason, the group has been formally banned from Hungary for three years. If they enter, expulsion will follow under international norms.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udce2 As I\u2019ve already announced. Here it is, straight from the Government Information Center:<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udeab @KneecapCEOL<\/a>\u2019s members repeatedly engage in antisemitic hate speech supporting terrorism and terrorist groups. Hungary has zero tolerance for antisemitism in any form.<\/p>\n

\u274cTheir planned\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Zoltan Kovacs (@zoltanspox) July 24, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\n\tKneecap responded with their own statement apologizing to the \u201ctens of thousands of fans who we were buzzing to see in person at Sziget.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe authoritarian government of Viktor Orban say we \u2018pose a national security threat,\u2019\u201d the band wrote. \u201cWhich is fucking outrageous coming from a man who welcomed Netanyahu, a wanted war criminal, like a hero just a few weeks ago. There is no legal basis for his actions, no member of Kneecap has ever been convicted of any crime in any country. We stand against all hate crimes and Kneecap champions love and solidarity as well as calling out injustices where we see it.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tThey added, \u201cIt\u2019s clear this is political distraction and a further attempt to silence those who call out genocide against the Palestinian people.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tKneecap have been a constant subject of controversy over the past few months, both in the U.K. and around the world. At\u00a0Coachella in April<\/a>, the trio started one of their sets with a screen message that read, \u201cIsrael is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,\u201d followed by, \u201cIt is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes.\u201d At\u00a0Glastonbury last month<\/a>, the band led the crowd in a chant of \u201cFuck Keir Starmer.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe band was subsequently investigated<\/a> by police for their Glastonbury performance, which was not aired live. Last week, the BBC reported that the Avon and Somerset Police announced that in following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service it had decided not to take any further action against\u00a0Kneecap<\/a>\u00a0due to \u201cinsufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offense.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tAdditionally, Kneecap\u2019s Mo Chara, born Liam \u00d3g \u00d3 hAnnaidh, faced a\u00a0terror charge<\/a>\u00a0in the U.K. for allegedly displaying the Hezbollah flag and yelling, \u201cUp, Hamas, up Hezbollah,\u201d and, \u201cThe only good Tory is a dead Tory,\u201d at a November 2024 concert. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u00d3 hAnnaidh and Kneecap have repeatedly denied the allegations and claimed footage from the concert was \u201cdeliberately taken out of all context.\u201d They\u2019ve also\u00a0suggested<\/a>\u00a0the charge was backlash towards their vocal support for Palestine<\/a>, against the war in Gaza<\/a>, and and against the U.K. and U.S. governments for funding and supplying it. Chara is currently out on bail ahead of an August 20 court date.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n