On 2 April 1969, multiple members of the socialist Black Panther Party were arrested in predawn raids across New York City. 21 members were subsequently charged, and 13 eventually tried for 156 offences ranging from conspiring to bomb department stores to conspiring to murder policemen. After an eight-month trial, the longest and most expensive in the state's history, on May 13, 1970 it took the chair of the jury 20 minutes to read out 156 consecutive "not guilty" verdicts, after jurors unanimously acquitted the defendants of all charges. The courtroom erupted with applause and cheers of "power to the people!" And "right on!". The prosecution case centred on the testimony of three undercover agents who testified that the Panthers were plotting to bomb railway and subway stations, police stations, shops and even the Bronx Botanical Garden. Afeni Shakur, later mother of rapper Tupac Shakur, defended herself, essentially arguing that the undercover agents were lying. Outside the courts there was a mass campaign in support of those charged, two of whom fled to Algeria, and were expelled from the party as a result. After the verdicts, several of the defendants left the courtroom with their fists raised. The prosecution was part of an often-violent and criminal state campaign to try to destroy the Black Panther Party. This book includes the collective autobiographies of the defendants, along with essays tying their legacy to struggles today: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/books/products/look-for-me-in-the-whirlwind-from-the-panther-21-to-21st-century-revolutions
Panther 21 arrested - WCH | Stories
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