Johnny Marr Backs Kneecap Ahead of Mo Chara’s Terror Trial

With Mo Chara’s court date looming and pressure mounting on Glastonbury to drop Kneecap from this year’s lineup, Johnny Marr has stepped in with a show of unflinching solidarity.

Posting to X, the former Smiths guitarist took aim at attempts to censor the Belfast trio’s festival slot, defending their right to perform and the artists speaking out for Palestine. “It’s important that I make my own position clear,” Marr wrote. “Glastonbury has always had a political aspect… it was founded as a place of free expression and political activism.”

That principle feels under fire in 2025. Mo Chara is set to appear in court this Wednesday (June 18), charged with a terror offence relating to a flag allegedly displayed during a 2024 Kneecap show. The band has denied the claims, calling the charge a “carnival of distraction” and insisting they do not condone violence or support Hezbollah.

Still, that hasn’t stopped a wave of backlash. Industry figures reportedly tried to pressure Glastonbury’s organisers to pull the group from the bill altogether, citing political controversy and Mo Chara’s legal troubles.

But the backlash has sparked its own backlash. Marr joins a growing list of artists—including Fontaines D.C.’s Grian Chatten and producer Toddla T—who’ve called the case and the attempted cancellation “a witch hunt” and “a silencing campaign” respectively.

“Oppression fears artistic expression,” Marr wrote. “I respect all musicians who use their platform to speak out against injustice… I stand with my audience and fellow musicians who call for an immediate end to the atrocities and a free Palestine.”

Love Music Hate Racism has also urged supporters to show up at Westminster Magistrates Court on June 18, saying “anyone trying to silence them is on the wrong side of history.”

Kneecap are still scheduled to play Glastonbury later this month. Whether Mo Chara walks into that set with a court case behind him—or still hanging over him—remains to be seen. But if Marr’s support is any sign, the band won’t be showing up quietly. Nor should they really.