The FBI has added the step-aunt and godmother of rapper Tupac Shakur to its list of most wanted terrorists.
Joanne Deborah Chesimard is the first woman to be added to the list, and the US authorities are offering up to $2 million for information leading to her apprehension. She is also only the second domestic terrorist to be added to the list.
Chesimard was convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper 40 years ago, but escaped from prison in 1979 with the help of accomplices.
The 65-year-old was a member of the Black Liberation Army, a revolutionary group that is described by US authorities as a “radical left-wing terror group” that murdered police officers throughout the 1970s.
It is believed that she is living in Cuba, having sought political asylum there, and is going by the name Assata Shakur.
The FBI has offered a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to her arrest, with the state of New Jersey offering a separate reward of up to $1 million – bringing the total up to $2 million.
Chesimard's brother was the stepfather of late American rapper Tupac Shakur and was his godmother, reported the Daily Mail.
The rapper’s career was cut short when he died at the age of 25 in a Las Vegas shooting in 1996.
“Joanne Chesimard is a domestic terrorist who murdered a law enforcement officer execution-style,” said Aaron Ford, a special agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark division.
“We want the public to know that we will not rest until this fugitive is brought to justice.”
The agency has claimed that she continues to promote her terrorist ideology while living in Cuba, although there was no new threat from her, according to a report by the Reuters news agency.
But some have argued that she was a victim of racism and mistreatment.
On 2 May 1973, Chesimard and a pair of accomplices were stopped by two troopers for a motor vehicle violation on the New Jersey Turnpike.
Chesimard was wanted for her involvement in several felonies, including bank robbery, at the time.
The authorities say she and her accomplices opened fire on the troopers – one officer was wounded and Trooper Werner Foerster was shot and killed at point-blank range.
One of Chesimard’s accomplices was killed in the shoot-out and the other was arrested and remains in jail.
Chesimard fled but was apprehended. In 1977, she was found guilty of first-degree murder, armed robbery and other crimes and was sentenced to life in prison.
Less than two years later, she escaped from prison and went underground before surfacing in Cuba in 1984.
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