Activists who brought you Defund the Police and Black Lives Matter riots and “no justice, no peace” unrest continue to double down, honoring convicted cop-killer and former Black militant Assata Shakur, dead at 78.
New Jersey Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy said the tributes for one of the FBI’s most-wanted fugitives who fled to Cuba after escaping a New Jersey women’s prison in 1979 with the help of armed members of the Black Liberation Army were “shameful and depraved.”
“She was convicted of the murder of New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster, who was executed in cold blood,” Murphy wrote on X, replying to the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) “honoring” Shakur’s “legacy.” “There are so many worthy heroes to celebrate. She is not one of them.”
The Democratic Socialists of America followed suit with the CTU.
“Rest in Power, Assata Shakur,” DSA wrote on X. “The American state brutally oppressed Assata and her Black Panther Party Comrades. The Cubans welcomed her and other Black Revolutionaries with asylum, and their solidarity and loyalty allowed Assata to live out her days in Havana.”
Adding in an ensuing post: “We vow to honor her legacy by recognizing our duty to fight for our freedom, to win, to love and protect one another because we have nothing to lose but our chains.”
Murphy and State Police Superintendent Patrick Callahan issued a joint statement Friday seeking to memorialize the victim, New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster, who was shot and killed during a traffic stop in 1973.
“Sadly, it appears she has passed without being held fully accountable for her heinous crimes,” the joint statement read. “Unlike his killer, Trooper Foerster never had a chance to live out his days in peace.”
State Assemblyman Michael Inganamort, who last year introduced a resolution urging Cuba to extradite Shakur, lamented that “justice was never served.” Police unions also blasted her as a coward who “died a fugitive.”
In an X post following Shakur’s death last week at age 78, the CTU praised her as “a revolutionary fighter” and quoted her writings about fighting for freedom. Shakur — born Joanne Deborah Chesimard — was convicted in 1977 of murdering Trooper Werner Foerster during a traffic stop shootout and was sentenced to life in prison before escaping in 1979.
Shakur was a member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army — violent revolutionary groups active during the 1960s and ’70s.
Authorities say Shakur and two accomplices opened fire on two state troopers after being pulled over for a broken taillight on the New Jersey Turnpike. Foerster was killed and another officer was wounded. One of Shakur’s associates was also killed in the shootout.
Although Shakur maintained she did not fire the fatal shot, a jury found her guilty of murder, armed robbery, and other violent crimes. She was also linked to bank robberies and the shootings of two additional police officers, though most of those charges were dismissed or ended in acquittals.
Just two years into a life sentence, Shakur was escaped from a New Jersey women’s prison in 1979 by armed members of the Black Liberation Army. They took guards hostage, hijacked a prison van, and spirited her away. She resurfaced five years later in Cuba, where communist dictator Fidel Castro granted her asylum.
Her escape and Cuba’s refusal to extradite her became a long-running flashpoint in U.S.-Cuba relations. U.S. officials — including President Donald Trump — repeatedly demanded her return.
Cuban authorities said Shakur died Thursday in Havana from health complications and old age. Her daughter, Kakuya Shakur, confirmed the death in a social media post. Officials vowed to oppose any effort to repatriate her remains to the United States.
Despite her violent past, Shakur was lionized by some on the far left and within the Black Lives Matter movement. Her 1988 memoir became a rallying cry, with slogans like: “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win.”
Critics noted her influence was steeped in Marxist and communist ideology, which shaped both her politics and her supporters’ rhetoric. Activists praised her as a revolutionary, while opponents saw her as an unrepentant terrorist.
Shakur also left her mark on pop culture. She was close to the family of late rapper Tupac Shakur, who considered her a godmother. She was referenced by Public Enemy and honored in a 2000 track by rapper Common, whose White House poetry appearance in 2011 sparked outrage from police groups and conservatives.
Information from The Associated Press was used to compile this report.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
