U.K. police have dropped their criminal investigation into punk duo Bob Vylan over controversial chants made at the 2025 Glastonbury Festival, citing insufficient evidence for prosecution. The decision follows months of backlash and scrutiny after the band's frontman led a crowd in calling for 'death to the IDF.' No charges will be filed against the performers.
On June 28, 2025, during their performance at the Glastonbury Festival, Bob Vylan's frontman, Bobby Vylan (real name Pascal Robinson-Foster), led the crowd in chants of "Death, death to the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, and "Free, free Palestine." He added, "Sometimes we have to get our message across with violence because that’s the only language some people speak, unfortunately," while an on-stage backdrop displayed messages like "United Nations have called it a genocide. The BBC calls it a ‘conflict.’"
The remarks drew swift condemnation from Glastonbury organizers, the BBC, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who accused the band of antisemitism. The duo was dropped by their booking agency, United Talent Agency, had their U.S. visas revoked, and were removed from several festival lineups. Longtime supporters of the Free Palestine movement, Bob Vylan have repeatedly criticized Israel's military actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
In response to the backlash, Bobby Vylan posted on Instagram, "I said what I said," acknowledging mixed reactions of support and hatred. The band later issued a statement clarifying their position: "We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people. We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine. A machine whose own soldiers were told to use ‘unnecessary lethal force’ against innocent civilians waiting for aid. A machine that has destroyed much of Gaza."
Avon and Somerset Police launched an investigation in July 2025, conducting a voluntary interview with a man in his mid-thirties in November and consulting about 200 festival attendees. They also sought input from the Crown Prosecution Service, another police force, the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s hate crimes department, an independent lawyer, and representatives from Jewish communities. The police considered the intent behind the words, context, case law, and freedom of speech principles.
On December 23, 2025, the force announced the investigation's conclusion: “We have concluded, after reviewing all the evidence, that it does not meet the criminal threshold outlined by the [Crown Prosecution Service] for any person to be prosecuted.” They added, “No further action will be taken on the basis there is insufficient evidence for there to be a realistic prospect of conviction.” This mirrors a July decision to drop a similar probe into Irish rap trio Kneecap's Glastonbury comments.
