The two musicians comprising the U.K. punk-rap duo Bob Vylan have had their U.S. visas revoked for leading chants against the Israeli Defense Forces during their performance at the Glastonbury Festival over the weekend
The group has been under fire since leading the festival crowd in the chant, “Death, death to the IDF” on Saturday.
On Monday morning, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Laundau took to X to announce that the State Department “has revoked the US visas for the members of the Bob Vylan band.”
Landau described the decision as a retaliation against Bob Vylan “in light of” the chants at Glastonbury, which he described as a “hateful tirade” where the group led “death chants.”
“Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” Laundau said.
The band, who has also been dropped by their talent agency, according to The Hollywood Reporter, had upcoming tour dates scheduled in numerous U.S. cities.
Prior to the official announcement, the free speech advocacy group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, condemned reports that the State Department was looking into banning Bob Vylan for their expressive acts.
FIRE compared the then-planned ban to countries like Russia and China banning artists such as Selena Gomez and Katy Perry for speech that cuts against official state doctrine.
“Nations committed to free expression should not use their borders as a tool of censorship, as Russia and China have done with artists whose political expression they seek to silence,” FIRE posted. “Revoking visas from controversial musicians and artists doesn’t make our country freer or safer. But it may make it silent.”
This comes as the Trump administration pursues an aggressive campaign of revoking international students’ visas, including for political expression such as pro-Palestinian advocacy.
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