While the Black community was honoring the life of Assata Shakur, former Black Panther and member of the Black Liberation Army, FBI Director Kash Patel went out of his way to slam anyone remembering her positively. Now, Black Twitter is dragging him for filth.
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We previously told you Shakur died at age 78 decades after she fled the U.S. to Cuba. Despite being a convicted killer and at the top of the FBI’s most wanted list, Shakur was revered by many as a radical thinker and pro-Black advocate.
Thousands of tributes flooded the internet after news of her death, but it’s Patel’s reaction that’s making major headlines.
The FBI director took to X to condemn Shakur, first calling her by her birth name. “Joanne Chesimard didn’t ‘fight for justice,’” Patel began. “She murdered New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster in cold blood, then fled to Cuba to escape accountability. The FBI never stopped calling her what she was: a terrorist.”
Patel turned his attacks on folks honoring the former Black Panther. “Mourning her is spitting on the badge and the blood of every cop who gave their life in service,” he wrote. But expectedly, many Black folks took offense to Patel’s remarks.
“Shut the f**k up respectfully you have no idea what you’re talking about clown ass boy,” @MalachiRobins20 said.
“So we can’t mourn her but y’all want us to mourn Kirk? A blatant racist? Yeah no,” @DuffJuice30 tweeted. We told you after the assassination of far-right podcaster Charlie Kirk, MAGA promised to go after all of his left-leaning critics. Many online took issue with folks like Patel supporting Kirk while denouncing Shakur.
@B1TuckerCarlson wrote, “Mourning Charlie Kirk is spitting on the work of every civil rights activist who gave their life for freedom.”
“She was convicted by a jury made up of racist white people for a crime she didn’t commit,” @Samoth12 tweeted. “Cops kill people in cold blood all the f*****g time. Fuck the badge and class traitor cops.”
Shakur was convicted of first-degree murder after a deadly 1973 shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike. She had been sentenced to life behind bars before escaping from prison in 1979, PBS reported.
It wasn’t until 1984 that the radical leader resurfaced in Cuba. Although she sought political asylum in the country for decades, under U.S. law, Shakur was still considered a fugitive.
Many Black folks like @thrifted.views took to social media arguing that Shakur’s legacy shouldn’t be celebrated. “Assata Shakur didn’t build, didn’t spearhead or contribute to any lasting social justice reform,” he said on TikTok. “Have we forgotten what accessory to a crime means?”
Another user, @bonnetbusiness, said on TikTok, “To keep it a buck, I’m not too sad about Assata Shakur’s passing.” She added, “What the hell did you actually do for us [Black people]?” The user went on to call out the Black Panther Party for doing nothing for the Black community except helping to provide the WIC program, which guarantees food stamps.
Shakur’s daughter, Kakuya Shakur, confirmed news of her mother’s passing on Facebook. “At approximately 1:15 PM on September 25th, my mother, Assata Shakur, took her last earthly breath. Words cannot describe the depth of loss that I am feeling at this time,” she wrote.
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