(Assata Shakur) Convicted cop killer Joanne Chesimard named one of FBI's most wanted terrorists

[alp227]

Last edited Thu May 2, 2013, 06:30 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: The Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ)

Radical black nationalist Joanne Chesimard, convicted in the killing of state trooper in a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike 40 years ago, is now the first woman and 46th person named to the FBI’s most wanted terrorist list.

The news came as state and federal officials today vowed to continue fighting to have the 65-year-old returned from Cuba, where she took shelter years after a bold escape from a state correctional facility in Hunterdon County. The FBI and the State Police said today that the reward for information leading to her capture has been increased, from $1 million to $2 million.

“By doubling the reward we’re going to bring additional attention to this,” state Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said during a news conference at the FBI’s Newark field office, where he was joined by the State Police superintendent, Col. Rick Fuentes. “This is about a family that was torn apart by a terrorist.”

Chesimard is only the second domestic terrorist named the FBI’s list, created following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It signals that agency leaders – at its highest levels in Washington – consider her among the greatest threats to the American government. There is not new threat, officials said, but they indicated they believe Chesimard continues to have contact with members of her group, the Black Liberation Army, who remain in the United States.

Read more: http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/05/cop_killer_joanne_chesimard_na.html

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A site admin actually wrote this in the comments section: "There's been a lot of productive conversation here, but there have also been a lot of inappropriate comments and racist rants. Given that, we're closing comments here. "

The top-voted comment included: " there is no factual, hardcore evidence that chesimard was the one who fired the shot that killed the trooper. she was found with a gun, she was in a car with a bunch of guys who were shooting, and they shot two cops, one of whom is now dead,

In actual fact, the state police do not know if she was the one who actually did it. Circumstantial evidence placed her in a position to do so, and the murder was pinned on her. "

The Wikipedia article about Shakur (the step-aunt of rapper Tupac Shakur) is a featured article on the site. Got lots of detail.

[flamingdem]

1. This looks like another bone thrown to the right wing Cuban Americans

in congress. It's a way to block attempts to lift the embargo if Alan Gross is released.

[dbackjon]

2. Come again?

At the very, very least, she is accessory to the murder of a state trooper.


She should be rotting in jail, not glorified.

[flamingdem]

3. Did I say anything that said she should be glorified?

?

[dbackjon]

4. If I misinterpreted your remarks, I am sorry

Why would this just be a bone to Right wing Cuban Americans?

[flamingdem]

7. Because no one cares about Cuba policy, really

but the right wingers in Congress like Marco Rubio need to look like they're doing something for the "cause". The cause is not about Shakur, it's about making sure that there is no forward progess, making up, with the Castro Bros.

Right now there is a USAID employee in prison there. Alan Gross was bringing equipment to help dissidents escape detection with communications and he was busted. However, the Cuban govt. will probably let him go soon. Thus, there will be no excuse left to stop further opening to Cuba, since Raul Castro has made steps and will make more.. this makes the likes of Rubio very nervous, their funding comes from the hard right wing due to this issue.

[dbackjon]

11. OK - hadn't heard of Gross, til now - I looked him up

[flamingdem]

13. I have more info that will help

I was close but no cigar.

In fact the right wing Cubans in congress pressured Kerry to keep Cuba on the US terrorism list when of course there is no reason to do so. They did this by saying that Cuba harbors terrorists the example being Assata Shakur. I don't know how/if they got her put on the Most Wanted List, I assume they did that too. Kerry capitulated.

[dbackjon]

14. Agreed there is no reason to keep Cuba on terrorism list

[Judi Lynn]

40. You're so right. All Cuban "exile" political funding comes from Cuba hate,

Last edited Fri May 3, 2013, 02:25 PM - Edit history (1)

old rehashed, regurgitated, right-wing Cold War racist xenophobia, it's all they've got!

Gross clearly broke Cuban law, and it wasn't the first time he had done it working for USAID.

He'd be a lucky, lucky man of Cuba lets him go, considering the fact the US is holding five Cuban patriots hostage who came here to try to prevent future bombings, assassinations, etc. which had been going on for decades, of Cuban nationals by Cuban-American terrorists, and had absolutely done NOTHING criminal whatsoever, nor had posed any threat to the U.S., and had themselves actually TAKEN their findings to the FBI in Miami, hoping to get their help in order to STOP "exile" terrorism against their countrymen/women, and Cuban tourists.

Complex problem could be dealt with directly if the President didn't feel pressure to please any constituency, and would just do what's right on this.

Getting Assata Shakur on the FBI Most Wanted list has to be something they'll be celebrating for months to come in Florida and New Jersey. Very sly, and slimy.

[Lasher]

36. You have restored my faith in human nature!

You sincerely apologized for making a mistake. Such virtue is rare.

[Blue_Tires]

5. I am curious to know how she shot up so far on the FBI list...

and why her reward is $2 million when the reward for eight out of the TOP TEN is $100,000...

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten

[msanthrope]

10. Al-Shabbab contacts, I'm betting. nt

[brush]

29. Yeah, especially after 40 years. Suddenly she's on the list. nt

[Ash_F]

15. Do you know what accessory to murder means?

There is no evidence of this. Being in the car does not make it so. The only bit, which was the trooper's Grand jury testimony, was later recanted under cross-examination. (Fun fact: he didn't get charged with perjury for some reason)

And the disproving evidence was substantial. But I won't get into it; I'm sure you don't care.

But for other readers, let us note that this is the New Jersey Court system in the early 70's. This is the same era where they put Rubin Carter through the ringer.


PS - All white jury, of course.

[morningfog]

26. She's been added to the terrorist most wanted.

list. How does being at the scene of a decades old crime warrant that? This country has gone nuts.

[heaven05]

31. you

know nothing of what you speak.

[Daniel537]

30. My thoughts exactly.

There has been a lot of talk in recent months about removing Cuba from that ridiculous terror list, but this makes sure that won't happen. This is a sick and deranged attempt to try to thwart a further softening of relations with Cuba. So much for Hope and Change and reaching out to "our enemies". A 65 year old woman who's been living a life of peace for the last 30 years is now one our biggest threats? Yeah, this country is out of its fucking mind.

[msanthrope]

6. "Chesimard's jammed handgun was found at Foerster's side."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/joanne-chesimard-woman-fbi-wanted-terrorists-list/story?id=19092683

Ms. Chesimard has always claimed that she had no idea how that state trooper was shot with his own gun, in the head, twice. The jury didn't buy it.




She had previously been arrested after attempting armed robbery, and was shot with her own gun. Some people would learn from that incident.


http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30A1FF93A5F127A93C5A9178FD85F458785F9

[Ash_F]

16. The armed robbery charge was dismissed. /nt

[msanthrope]

17. I think you miss the point--most people, upon being involved in an armed robbery, and,

having been shot in the abdomen with their own gun, might cease and desist from further gunplay.

In fact, one might think that smart people who have been shot while attempting armed robbery might take a dismissal as a sign that one narrowly avoided prison, and one should continue to avoid prison.

But some people, commonly called 'criminals,' do not. The persist. And so it is not surprising that when a criminal finally goes to jail, they have something that is a called a 'rap sheet.'

Rap sheets generally outline the proposition "where there is smoke, there is fire." In the case of Ms. Chesimard, that truism certainly applies.

[Ash_F]

18. So, even though the charge was dismissed, she is guilty?

Darn those 1970's Black female activists; always cheating the criminal justice system!

We need a fist-shaking smilie.

[msanthrope]

19. Was she shot? Yes. Guilty or not, most people, upon being SHOT, reconsider their path in life.

In other words, most people LEARN from their mistakes.

Criminals do not, and the generally have the rap sheet to prove it. So does Ms. Chesimard.

[Ash_F]

20. I'm sorry I thought this was Democraticunderground 2013

not Republicanestablishement 1969.

You realize it is highly likely that she was the victim. That this was a period when White people could commit a crime against a Black person and then call the police to have them arrested. And this is was in fact common.

I suggest you watch "The Hurricane" with Denzel Washington. Based on a true story. Similar events. Same time-frame. Same State. Same courts.

[msanthrope]

21. She wasn't the victim. She was shot with her own gun during a robbery attempt.

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30A1FF93A5F127A93C5A9178FD85F458785F9

[Ash_F]

23. Ah yes, that newspaper clipping from the 70's is proof.

I bet, after that, she used her considerable clout and political connections as a Black female activist in 1971 to bully the prosecutor into dropping charges.

You are adorable. You should see the movie though. Denzel is AMAZING.

[heaven05]

33. I'm amazed

at the ignorance and willful denial exhibited by some people on this site.

[jonestonesusa]

22. If you haven't read Assata Shakur's autobiography

you should. That would provide a more informed opinion than what you're offering.

It's also important to respect and be willing to write the name of the person in question here: Assata Shakur. Lack of historical memory and being underinformed is the only reason why anyone would agree with this decision to offer a big federal reward to re-incarcerate Ms. Shakur for a crime that she - in all likelihood, did not commit. As a Black Panther activist in the 1970s, there was no justice, and as many sources can confirm about the social climate today, justice in the criminal justice system remains hard to secure for black men and women in the USA, especially political activists.

The great admiration this country expresses for Dr. King (after his murder) is one ironic example of how little we value black activists who tell truth to power. This is especially true for someone such as Shakur, who is rightly skeptical of long promised but rarely upheld US government rhetoric about justice for all.

I'm surprised there aren't more voices in DU speaking up for Assata Shakur. I broke a long silence on this site (probably 2-3 years since the last time I posted) just so there is some kind of strong sentiment on this supposedly liberal site against classifying Assata Shakur with the 9/11 perpetrators. How soon we forget our own history - and how often we are doomed to repeat it.

[Ash_F]

24. I find it to be more productive, with Misanthrope, to toss sarcastic one-liners...

...than to actually make an effort post and hope they change their mind. Thanks for trying though.

[morningfog]

28. So, that warrants addition to terrorist most wanted list?

[morningfog]

27. Haven't you claimed to be a defense attorney?

[msanthrope]

34. I am a defense attorney. Who better to know what a criminal is?

I find that those people who gravitate toward people like Joanne Chesimard tend to have a very idealized view of crime and criminals, mainly because they have lived lives of privilege, and have been exposed to neither.

They make excellent jurors, because they are foolish enough to think that there's no way a psychopath would be able to lie to them without them knowing.

[heaven05]

35. just

because you are a 'defense attorney' doesn't make you right or competent. I find that those who dismiss facts like 'all white jury' in the 70's in New Jersey and recanted police testimony ......well You come to your own conclusion, you're an attorney.

[msanthrope]

41. I haven't dismissed any facts..Ms. Chesimard chose not to participate

in the appeals process, and so the facts are exactly as the jury found them.

You may choose to believe what a criminal writes about their own crimes. I don't.


She had an excellent appellate lawyer. She should have given him a chance.

[heaven05]

42. ok

excellent appellate lawyer? Ok. Skewed system. Not okay. But! Anything you say to make her chances better in sussex or suffolk county, but name doesn't matter. Racial makeup does. Jury of her peers? No. But anything you say. She never stood a chance. Two years in solitary? Waiting for justice that would never come.

[morningfog]

38. You don't sound like any defense attorney I've

ever met, and I know many. I mean nothing like the ones I know.

[msanthrope]

43. I, and quite a few other attorneys on this board, have noted that when we

say things other posters don't like, the first accusation we face is that we are not attorneys.

So I'm going to tell you what I tell other posters who have questioned me...I've claimed to be an attorney, and worked as such for the Obama campaign. Heck..I went on Steve Leser's show on Election Night and talked about the experience.

If you think I'm lying about that, don't you think you should report me to admin?

[morningfog]

44. All I'm saying is you sound nothing at all like the defense attorneys I know.

I don't think there is any rule against lying on DU, nor do I think the admins care. I am not accusing you of lying either.

But, what you write here, regarding criminal matters, is contrary to all the defense attorneys I know, from beginning public defenders to 30 year white collar defense attorneys.

[divineorder]

45. From what I read so far

She was afraid she would be murdered in prison, and had received death threats all during her incarceration. Given the temper of the times, would you have been surprised as to why she ran? Waiting for an appeals court, when she might not have lived long enough to appeal?

It was the 1960's when many activists, black and white, were being targeted with assassination, drug busts or worse by the JE Hoover FBI. An FBI that not even Johnson or Kennedy could bring to heel, that even they were afraid of crossing. Given the odds, I'm not sure that I wouldn't have run either, if I were in her shoes and had the chance.

About the communication. I believe she feels that as long as she speaks out, she's less vulnerable to a quick grab by some "exiles" who may feel they are doing themselves a favor by either killing her or kidnapping her back to the United States. Also, a lot of the old comrades are free, having served their sentences or having their convictions voided because of prosecutorial misconduct. So those people are free to call or write to her like anyone else.

One more thing. She's been in exile since the 70's. If she was a threat worthy of $2 million, why didn't several other FBIs take this action sooner? Merely being the 40th Anniversary is so lame that even they can't really explain it. It's more about that trip that Jay-Zee and Beyonce took last month. Seeing them being warmly greeted, protected, and all the rest by the Cuban populace has stirred up rage in the remaining first-generation exiles. Who have spent years trying to describe Cuba as a dystopia like North Korea.

[heaven05]

32. yeah

the all white jury didn't buy it. duh. None speaking know anything of fred hampton, mark clark and how and why they were assassinated, george jackson on how or why he was assassinated or Dr. Angela Davis...Amy Goodman did a segment on this topic this morning on KSER radio.

[geek tragedy]

8. The US and Cuba harbor terrorists who have targeted the other side.

And so it goes.

[Comrade Grumpy]

9. The FBI considers her to be among "the greatest threats to the American government"? Really?

An old woman in exile in Cuba for God knows how many years?

And she "continues to have contact with members of her group, the Black Liberation Army." Does she send them postcards? Do the reminisce? I haven't heard about any "terrorism" related to the BLA in I dunno, like, 40 years or so.

[flamingdem]

12. Yes, this is bs, the right wing Cuban American gang used this to keep

Kerry from taking Cuba off the terrorist list. Ridiculous.

[Marcuse]

25. Quid pro quo?

The FBI should check with Homeland Security which holds that the BLA became inactive in the mid eighties. What did the Administration extract in return for this bone?

http://www.start.umd.edu/start/data_collections/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=3708

[lovemydog]

37. More info:

Interviews & other black & pan-african video:
http://rbgtube.com/

Documentary movie:
http://www.handsoffassata.net/

Web page with lots of her writings:
http://www.assatashakur.org/

[DeSwiss]

39. ....