Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago praised a woman who was convicted in the killing of a police officer during a 1973 traffic stop in a video posted to social media Monday.
The Cuban government announced Thursday that Joanne Chesimard, also known as Assata Shakur, died in Havana. Johnson was asked about a post by the Chicago Teachers Union praising Shakur during a Monday press conference.
“Assata Shakur is an important person in the black liberation movement who has repeatedly claimed her innocence,” Johnson claimed.
WATCH:
FBI Director Kash Patel criticized those who mourned Chesimard in a Sunday post on X.
“Joanne Chesimard didn’t ‘fight for justice.’ She murdered New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster in cold blood, then fled to Cuba to escape accountability,” Patel posted. “The FBI never stopped calling her what she was: a terrorist. Mourning her is spitting on the badge and the blood of every cop who gave their life in service.”
Chesimard was wanted for bank robbery and other felonies prior to the 1973 traffic stop that turned into a shootout with New Jersey state troopers, according to The New York Times.
Johnson’s praise for the convicted cop-killer came after a Friday riot at a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in the Chicago area and multiple attacks on ICE facilities in Texas, including a deadly shooting in Dallas.
Prior to the Wednesday shooting, there were two previous incidents where shots were fired at ICE or Border Patrol facilities in Texas since July 4, with ten people being charged with attempted murder in connection with the former incident. The Dallas ICE facility received a bomb threat in August, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
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