The criminal investigation into Bob Vylan for leading chants of “Death to the IDF” at Glastonbury 2025 will not lead to charges, the BBC reports.
“We have concluded, after reviewing all the evidence, that it does not meet the criminal threshold outlined by the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] for any person to be prosecuted,” Avon and Somerset Police said in a statement.
In addition to calling out the IDF, or Israel Defense Force, the punk duo chanted “Free Palestine,” leading to accusations that they had violated Britain’s stringent hate speech laws.
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Bob Vylan also projected the message “United Nations have called it a genocide. The BBC calls it a ‘conflict.’” (And not to rag on the British Broadcasting Corporation, but over half their article about Bob Vylan is given over to groups denouncing the decision irrespective of the law. Bob Vylan beat the charges, but you can’t say the same for the BBC.)
Police interviewed “approximately 200” members of the public, adding, “We sought specific consideration around the words stated, in terms of the intent behind them, the wider context of how people heard what was said, case law and anything else potentially relevant, including freedom of speech.” The investigation is now closed: “No further action will be taken.”
In the aftermath of the performance, Bob Vylan had their US visas revoked and issued a clarifying statement saying they were calling for the “dismantling of a violent military machine,” not the deaths of any “race or group of people.”
