Rap trio Kneecap have been barred from entering Canada ahead of a series of October concerts, after the Canadian government deemed the group to be advocating for “political violence” and “glorifying” terrorist organisations, charges the trio deny.
Canadian MP and Parliamentary Secretary for Combatting Crime Vince Gasparro announced the decision earlier today, stating that the government of Canada had deemed “the group Kneecap ineligible to enter our country”.
“Our government will not tolerate the advocating of political violence, terrorism or Anti-Semitism and hate more broadly,” Mr Gasparro said in a post on social media.
“Recently the rap group Kneecap has engaged in actions and have made statements that are contrary to Canadian values and laws, that have caused deep alarm to our government.
“The group have amplified political violence and publicly displayed support for terrorist organisations such as Hezbollah and Hamas,” Mr Gasparro said in his statement, adding that “notably one member of the band is currently facing terrorism-related charges”.
Responding to Mr Gasparro, Kneecap described the comments as “wholly untrue and deeply malicious”.
“No member of Kneecap has ever been convicted of ANY crime in ANY country EVER,” they said, adding that they have instructed their lawyers to initiate legal action in response.
“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,” they wrote in response to the Canadian government’s decision.
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