Earlier this week it was reported that The Office of the Prime Minister and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) were not involved. in a decision made by Liberal MP Vince Gasparo in September when he announced in a video posted on social media that the Irish hip-hop trio Patella was prohibited from entering the country.
In response to Gasparro's claims that they had “increased political violence and publicly demonstrated support for terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas,” pro-Palestinian advocates and musicians vowed to sue the lawmaker—and now they appear to have done so.
Kneecap shared the news on Instagram in the form of a statement they call “a little message to Vince.” It says:
Message to Vince Gasparro:
We said in September that you had made comments about us that were completely untrue and deeply malicious. You did it.
It now turns out that you also lied when you told the world you were acting “on behalf of the Government of Canada.” It was another lie. You weren't.
Your own government has made this clear.
Today we are filing a lawsuit against you. As we have said, we will tirelessly defend against outrageous and unfounded
accusations.
Vince. When we beat you in court, and we will, we will donate every cent of your money to help thousands of child amputees in the Gaza Strip.
Finally, we reach out to our many fans in Canada to address the “compliance issues” reported by your IRCC.
We look forward to visiting Canada again in 2026 and playing sold out shows throughout your country as we have done in the past.
FREE PALESTINE
Although it has since emerged that only one member of the band – Mo Chara, aka Liam O Hannaidh – was actually banned from entering the country (his electronic entry permit [eTA] was canceled in August due to “inappropriate disclosure of full and accurate information on its application”), they were forced to cancel fall tour dates in Toronto and Vancouver.
A few days after Gasparro made his statement, the O Hannaidh terrorism case in the UK was closed. thrown out. It was released in May after the band's pro-Palestinian messages at the Coachella festival prompted an investigation by the Internet Counter-Terrorism Unit, which uncovered footage of the rapper allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag and shouting, “Up Hamas!” Up, Hezbollah! at the 2024 concert in London.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has not clarified whether the information allegedly excluded from O Hannaida's eTA has anything to do with the terrorism charges that have since been dropped. Read Kneecap's full statement below.
