“On May 21, 1971, NYPD Officers Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones were assassinated by assailants associated with an extremist group known as the Black Liberation Army. According to the Justice Department, this group was responsible for more than 70 incidents between 1970 and 1976, including the murder of 13 police officers and the bombing of a church. Jalil Muntaqim, known commonly as Anthony Bottom, was one of those assailants.
Make no mistake, Bottom was not a political prisoner — he was a murderer who gunned down two NYPD Police Officers and helped lead a national war on cops. He deserved to be imprisoned and should have remained there for the rest of his life. It is reprehensible that an institution of higher education, funded by the taxpayers of New York, would attempt to portray Bottom as some sort of sick hero.
Bottom and his co-assailants were not imprisoned due to their political beliefs — they were imprisoned for committing a crime. Murdering any individual, but especially a police officer, is a serious crime in this country. SUNY Brockport should cancel this appearance immediately.”