Leftists pick the absolute worst people to be their heroes: George Floyd, Luigi Mangione, and now a woman named Assata Shakur, who passed away last week.

Assata was the godmother to the rapper Tupac Shakur, but her claim to notoriety is far more sinister than that. She was a member of the Black Liberation Army, the even more radically militant wing of the Black Panther Party. According to a 1991 intelligence report, the stated goals of the BLA were “to kill ‘cops’ (then seize control of their communities and liberate black people from repression) and to expropriate funds from the capitalists and imperialists (financing the revolution and taking back the wealth robbed from blacks through slave labor).” Members of this group attacked police and armored cars to achieve both goals.

Shakur was involved in a shootout with state troopers in New Jersey in the early 1970s, during which a police officer was murdered. State Trooper Werner Foerster’s gun was taken from him, and he was assassinated execution-style by one of the radical leftists in her cohort, leaving behind a wife and child. His name should be remembered, not hers. Shakur, along with the others involved in the incident, was convicted in 1977 and was serving time in prison when her fellow radicals helped her escape in 1979. She fell off the radar until 1984, when she showed up in Cuba, where communist dictator Fidel Castro granted her asylum.

Shakur was on the FBI’s most wanted list — the first woman to shatter that glass ceiling make that infamous list. She was also a suspect in a 1971 hand grenade attack on a police station.

Fond public remembrances have been pouring in from the Left. Democrat Representatives Summer Lee (PA), Ayanna Pressley (MA), and Congressional Black Caucus chair Yvette Clarke (NY) all publicly expressed their sadness at Shakur’s passing and quoted her sentiment about fighting because “we have nothing to lose but our chains.” What “chains” could these United States congresswomen be fighting against? They have already reached a political and social pinnacle of sorts.

The Black Power Movement was a creation of Malcolm X, a practicing Muslim who at one point declared himself a communist. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the roots of today’s radical left-wing violence stem from the ideas of this 1950s radical. Martin Luther King Jr. himself was a so-called democratic socialist, and leading voices of the black community have continued to trend in that direction. The late pastor Dr. Voddie Baucham discussed at length the interconnection of Marxism and Afrocentrism and how it tore apart the black community. Even Baucham struggled at the beginning of his ministry to set aside his allegiance to being black and prioritize sharing the Gospel.

The Democratic Socialists of America — New York City mayoral hopeful Zorhan Mamdani’s political party — also honored Shakur on social media, ridiculously asserting, “The American state brutally oppressed Assata and her Black Panther Party Comrades.” This isn’t surprising, but it does diminish Mamdani’s credibility when he attempts to deny being anti-police. Furthermore, bear in mind that Shakur aided and abetted in the brutal murder of an innocent man and is suspected of attempting to kill others.

The legacy media likewise chimed in with tributes like the propagandists that they are. The Washington Free Beacon compiled a list that includes The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Associated Press, USA Today, Rolling Stone, Harper’s Bazaar, and the BBC.

Not to be outdone, the Chicago Teachers Union said:

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 us that “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.”

The Chicago Teachers Union represents educators who are supposed to shepherd and teach our children, and they are happy to celebrate a murderer.

We are currently riding a vicious wave of renewed leftist violence, though such bloodthirstiness is nothing new. To these Marxist radicals, right is wrong, good is evil, and if a demonstrably corrupt and evil individual commits heinous acts in the name of leftism, they will be lauded.