Police in the United Kingdom said on Tuesday they interviewed a man in his mid-30s as part of an ongoing investigation into the British punk rap duo Bob Vylan and comments they made seemingly calling for the death of Israelis on stage at the Glastonbury Festival over the summer.
Avon and Somerset Police said in the “investigation update” that the man voluntarily attended a police interview on Monday in connection to comments made by the band’s lead singer Bobby Vylan, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, at Glastonbury on June 28. During Bob Vylan’s set at the music festival in Somerset, England, Robinson-Foster led the audience in chanting “death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces].” He also proclaimed “free, free Palestine” during the band’s Glastonbury performance, which was televised live by the BBC.
“The matter has been recorded as a public order incident while we continue to investigate and consider all relevant legislation,” police stated on Tuesday. “Voluntary police interviews are commonly used in investigations where an individual agrees to attend and an arrest is not considered necessary, for example on the grounds of public safety or for the preservation of evidence. Attendees are interviewed under caution and have the same legal rights as anybody who is arrested.”
The police force added that in October they received legal advice about the investigation from the Crown Prosecution Service.
Bob Vylan was scheduled to have two performances in the UK in early November but postponed the concerts to February after government officials, Members of Parliament, and Jewish groups called for the shows to be canceled.
The Manchester Evening News recently paid £16,000 in damages to Robinson-Foster after printing the false claim that he “performed Nazi salutes on stage” at a Bob Vylan gig in October. The hand gesture was in fact a guided meditation and light stretching routine that Bob Vylan regularly perform to open their shows. The accusation about the Nazi salute was made in an article published by the Evening News on Oct. 6, and the British publication subsequently printed a full correction and apology.
Following Bob Vylan’s “death to the IDF” comments at Glastonbury, the band was dropped by the United Talent Agency (UTA), which said the “antisemitic sentiments expressed by the group were utterly unacceptable.” Bob Vylan was also dropped from a number of music festivals, and their US visas were revoked, which prevented them from embarking on their North American tour. Their anti-IDF comments were condemned by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Jewish groups, the Israeli Embassy in London and Glastonbury organizers. The BBC later apologized for live streaming the band’s “offensive and deplorable behavior.”
