Kneecap Banned From Canada | Pitchfork

Kneecap have been barred from coming into Canada, Vince Gasparro, the nation’s parliamentary secretary for combating crime, introduced in a video on social media right now (September 19). Gasparro accused the Irish rap trio of amplifying political violence and displaying antisemitic symbols, alluding to the alleged exhibits of assist for Hezbollah and Hamas for which bandmember Mo Chara is awaiting trial in the UK. (Kneecap have said they don’t assist both group.) The band responded in a statement that it could pursue authorized motion towards Gasparro for his “wholly unfaithful and deeply malicious” feedback and reaffirmed its assist for the Palestinian trigger.

The group’s assertion continued, “We will probably be relentless in defending ourselves towards baseless accusations to silence our opposition to a genocide being dedicated by Israel. After we beat you in court docket, which we’ll, we’ll donate each cent to help a number of the 1000’s of kid amputees in Gaza.”

In a separate message to followers, the band accused a number of pro-Israel foyer teams of utilizing misinformation to affect the Canadian authorities, claiming there was no authorized foundation to cease them coming into the nation. “Now we have performed in Canada many instances with zero points and a message of solidarity and love,” Kneecap mentioned.

Kneecap had been resulting from play two nights apiece in Toronto and Vancouver. As we speak’s growth follows the cancellation of their U.S. tour, which they attributed to Chara’s subsequent court docket date on September 25. Earlier than that, the trio’s present at a competition in Budapest was canceled after Hungary’s far-right authorities grew to become the primary to bar their entry. The group introduced this month that it could livestream a concert for North American followers on October 10.