defendant

The defendant - known only by his police codename "Mercury" because he was a minor at the time of the alleged offences - was freed in 2019 and all charges, which he denied, were dropped.

“Or, as defendant Secretary Noem put it succinctly in a February 19 internal memorandum, States whose policies she dislikes ‘should not receive a single dollar of the Department’s money.’”

“These proceedings against the defendant were instituted unlawfully and are null,” Goldspring said, releasing Ó hAnnaidh to raucous cheers from Kneecap supporters — including the rapper’s parents — in the courtroom.

Parents detailed the guilt they feel about placing their children in Lecka's care, with one mother, whose son the defendant kicked in the face, telling the court: "We weren't there to protect them."

Chunda's barrister Bernard Richmond KC acknowledged the defendants' behaviour in court had been "reprehensible" but argued it should have no impact on the sentences they receive.