By Mark Tanos
Copyright dailycaller
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) honored a convicted cop killer on social media Thursday, praising Joanne Chesimard as a “revolutionary fighter” following news of her death in Cuba.
The union’s official X account posted “Rest in Power, Rest in Peace, Assata Shakur,” using Chesimard’s adopted name. The CTU called her “a revered elder of Black liberation” and quoted her saying “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Chesimard died Wednesday in Havana “due to health conditions and advanced age.” She was 77. (RELATED: Communist Convicted Of Killing Cop Dies Decades After Escaping Prison, Officials Say)
Rest in Power, Rest in Peace, Assata Shakur. 🕊️ Today we honor the life and legacy of a revolutionary fighter, a fierce writer, a revered elder of Black liberation, and a leader of freedom whose spirit continues to live in our struggle. Assata refused to be silenced. She taught… pic.twitter.com/SsoIg7MU8w — Chicago Teachers Union (@CTULocal1) September 27, 2025
A jury convicted Chesimard of first-degree murder in 1977 for shooting New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster during a routine traffic stop on the New Jersey Turnpike. Trooper James Harper had pulled over a white Pontiac with Vermont plates and a broken taillight. Harper called Foerster for backup before gunfire erupted.
During her trial, Chesimard called the jury “racist” and said she was “ashamed” to have “even taken part” in the proceedings.
Two years into her life sentence, Chesimard escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility for Women when armed accomplices broke her out in 1979. She fled to Mexico, then Cuba by 1984, where Fidel Castro’s government granted her asylum.
The FBI added Chesimard to its most wanted list in 2013, offering $1 million for information leading to her capture. She evaded justice for 46 years.
