By Police1 Staff
Organizers for the Women’s March are facing backlash after tweeting birthday wishes for one of the United States’ most infamous fugitive cop killers.
According to News 12, the activist organization behind the largest single-day protest in American history and subsequent anti-Trump protests sent out a tweet Sunday wishing Assata Shakur a happy birthday.
Shakur was convicted in the 1973 killing of New Jersey Trooper Werner Foerster. She currently resides in Cuba, where she has remained for decades after escaping prison.
https://twitter.com/womensmarch/status/886652647582859264
“It was just an irresponsible, incredible tweet to put out,” New Jersey Police Union President Pat Colligan told News 12. “Celebrating a convicted killer’s birthday and then never talking about her real past.”
The organization has since put out a series of comments defending the tweet, arguing that “#AssataShakur’s resistance tactics were different from ours. That does not mean that we do not respect her anti-sexism work.”
“#AssataShakur took a militant approach. We do not,” the organization continued.
https://twitter.com/NJSPBA/status/887136762052702208