Teachers union mourns notorious NJ cop killer, sparking outrage and rare unity

🔴 Assata Shakur died in exile in Cuba after being convicted of killing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster.

🔴 A teachers union is celebrating her life and calls her "a leader of freedom."

🔴 New Jersey leaders are coming together to slam the "shameless" post

Controversy is brewing after the largest teachers union in Chicago heaped praise on a woman who died in exile after she was convicted of the murder of a New Jersey State Trooper.

Assata Shakur, born with the name Joanne Chesimard, died in Cuba last week at 78 years old.

Shakur fled the United States for the island nation after escaping from Clinton Correctional Facility for Women, now known as Edna Mahan, in New Jersey in 1979.

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She had been sentenced to life in prison after she was convicted of murder in the killing of New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster.

Praise from Chicago Teachers Union sparks outrage

On Friday, hours after the news of her death was first reported, the Chicago Teachers Union heaped praise on the convicted cop killer.

Shakur, who was rapper Tupac Shakur's godmother, has a reputation among some, including the Black Lives Matter movement, as a freedom fighter.

Shakur was a prominent activist; she was a member of the Black Liberation Army and the Black Panther Party.

Shakur’s legacy continues to divide

Despite her murder conviction and being the first woman to make the FBI's list of most wanted terrorists, Shakur and her supporters claimed she was innocent. Shakur said her hands were in the air when Foerster was shot.

In 1998, Shakur released an open letter from Cuba. She said she was not a criminal and referred to herself as an "ex-political prisoner."

The Chicago Teachers Union, which appeared to share Shakur's sentiments, received sharp criticism from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.

Gov. Murphy earns praise for condemning Assata Shakur

"Shameful and depraved. She was convicted of the murder New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster, who was executed in cold blood. There are so many worthy heroes to celebrate. She is not one of them," Murphy said.

The governor has said he will oppose any attempts to bring her remains back to the United States.

Murphy received support from Chicago officials, including Chicago City Alderman Gilbert Villegas.

"Thank you Governor for this statement, we couldn’t agree with you more," Villegas said in the post comments.

In a rare instance of New Jersey unity, many Murphy critics showed their appreciation for the Democrat governor's hard stance. He received hundreds of supportive comments from across the aisle, including:

📱 "Pigs have flown, I agree for the 1st time EVER with Phil Murphy."

📱 "I don’t agree with you on literally anything @GovMurphy but this is an honorable thing calling out such depravity."

📱 "I'm blown away, it took 7.9 years for me to finally agree with you. I had to show this to 3 different people to confirm I didn't get roofied and that I wasn't hallucinating reading this."

📱 "I agree with Governor Murphy on this. Quite possibly ONLY this, but I thank him for his honesty.

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