Hatchet attack on New York Cops not Islamic Jihadism; It was a home-grown, all-American terrorist act

Long simmering racial polarization; anti-police hatred sparked terror attack in wake of Ferguson

By Nate Thayer

October 24, 2014

Zale Thompson was an American homegrown terrorist.

Zale Thompson liked this picture on FB earlier this year

Zale Thompson was also an  intelligent, well-educated, All American, black man.  A very angry, very American black man who hated cops and white people.

Only 48 hours ago, he attended a protest organized by black nationalists against police brutality in New York City.

Thompson did not like or trust white people. Zale Thompson represents the worst case extremist scenario of Ferguson, Missouri.

And, as is equally true in both black and white America, he was beyond discussion or listening.

Thompson highlighted the avoidance of a very uncomfortable national conversation on race that needs to be had. Americans are frightened to confront the reality that the U.S. is a racially fractured country. You can argue the merits of whether it should be. But one cannot argue that the U.S. has a seething racial divide and political polarization.

That some U.S. media, political pundits, and law enforcement continue to contend he was a product of foreign enemies, affiliated with Jihadists, or ISIS, is a reflection of how very, very uncomfortable the truth of racial hatred, distrust, and polarization is for all Americans.

When he attacked 4 NYC police officers with a hatchet just after 2 p.m. Thursday, he was not an Islamic Jihadist or agent or product of any foreign influence.

Another picture cartoon that NYC hatchet terrorist posted on Facebook weeks ago. His primary anger was focused on police officers

Zale Thompson believed that a race war needed to be launched in the United States. whose ideological origins and sympathies were with the American black nationalist movement.

Thompson’s extremist views fit comfortably within the edges of mainstream urban black American male youth.

Thompson was a lone wolf. He was not a member of any political party or religious outfit. He did not like communism or socialism. He did not trust organized religion. And he had many well thought out views.

His escalating revolutionary political views had concluded that only a violent race war in America would address his grievances; he openly called for the armed overthrow of the U.S. government; he was a proponent of launching a guerrilla war of terror waged in the United States by black people; and he identified white people as a historical and intractable enemy of black people and that they must all be killed.

Protest against police violence in NYC Thompson attended the day before his attack on NYC attacks

Thompson did not have any obvious allegiance to a single political organization, but he did share his notably articulate and well thought out views with numerous other extremist American black nationalists.

He converted to Islam two years ago, but was not affiliated with any foreign religious groups. He conversed regularly with members of Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam political group, but he refused to join and openly criticized them. “I don’t agree with the NoI,” he remarked last month.

The first paragraph of the Koran posted on Thompsons FB page

“It is against my religion to unite with pagans, atheists, democracy, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, racism, socialism, communism, Marxism, etc etc. the God that i serve has commanded his servants to reject all other gods as false and all nations that do not serve him as the enemy and to fight these people until God judges mankind at the end of days. And then God will decide who was right and who was wrong. I’m not concerned with who lives or dies because God will resurrect who he pleases and grant them either paradise or eternal hellfire. But it is my job while i am alive is to serve him and to fight against any nation, belief, or religion who disagrees,” Thompson said on June 22.

Zale Thompson attacking 4 NYC police officers on Thursday, the day after attending a protest that drew thousands against police violence in NYC

But African-American black nationalist political groups have been a mainstream part of the American black urban political culture since the 1960’s and Malcolm X.

He felt a more clear political kinship with the contemporary incarnations, such as the Black Panther Party, but rejected their leftist views.

When leaders of the Black Riders Liberation Party, who bill themselves as “The new generation of Black Panthers”, invited Thompson October 16 to “come out to our next event, a public demonstration in New York City against police violence held Wednesday October 22, Thompson responded: “I will come to the event just as long as it doesn’t involve socialism or communism.”

The next day, yesterday, he took a hatchet out of a black bag and tried to kill 4 white policeman.

A post by Thompson of one of his ideological mentors, Malcolm X

Thompson was very intelligent, excelled at school, and was a graduate of the prestigious Ivy League Columbia University.

Upon hearing of his death, Zale Thompson’s friends reacted with disbelief.
“Zale Thompson was an associate of mine. I withhold judgement, and I ask every one to do the same…If he was wrong than he was wrong, but I ask that there be one universal standard that everyone is judged by,” said Frank Sha Francois Shakur. ” Yes I knew Zale. This is a fact: Zale Thompson was not affiliated with ISIS or any other organization,” Shakur, a black nationalist political leader in New York City said Thursday evening after learning of the terrorist attack in New York.

“We went to high school and college together. He was a great intellectual,” commented another friend. “He was very smart,” was the comment of a third.

“Some of you MOFO’s want to convict me of guilt by association. Well let the same standard apply to us all. If that is the case, I am sure many, most of you if not all of you are guilty, by associating too, because I am sure most of you interact with flagrant racists. I am not ripping this country apart. This country has never been unified. My people have always suffered and been oppressed…Lets keep it real,” said Shakur.

While Mr. Shakur was a friend of Zale Thompson–he was not a comfortable political ally.

Below are some excerpts from recent conversations Thompson had with Frank Sha Francois Shakur, a leader of the Black Riders Liberation Party.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Riders-Liberation-Party/552621838086002?ref=br_rs
The Black Riders Liberation Party labelled themselves as the “New generation of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense” until 3:36 PM today, an hour before Zane Thompson tried to murder four NYC police officers with a hatchet during rush hour on a Queens subway platform.

Black Riders Liberation Party newspaper

That was when the Black Riders Liberation Party released a statement on their Facebook page that they “would like to Announce that Black Riders has officially become apart of the Huey P.Newton Gun Club and is now it’s West Coast Representatives. The H.P.N.G.C is an ARMED Black United Front…Black Riders is joining the H.P.N.G.C because of the rise in police terrorism in Amerikkka and we find it compatible with… ”

“We ride for an immediate end to POLICE BRUTALITY and MURDER of Black People. We ride because we believe we can end police brutality in our Black community by organizing Black self-defense groups dedicated to defending our Black community from racist police oppression and brutality. The 2nd amendment of the u.s constitution gives a right to bear arms. We therefore believe that all Black people should arm themselves for self-defense. We are honored to join the Huey P. Newton Gun Club during this October… R.I.P Michael Brown in Ferguson, Ezell Ford in L.A., Eric Garner in New York, and many, many others… ARMED REVOLUTION IS THE ONLY SOLUTION TO PIG TERRORISM…
Sincerely, General T.A.C.O
(Taking All Capitalists Out) AKA Wolverine Shakur!”

From a Facebook conversation between Thompson and Skakur earlier this year:
Zale Thompson: the solution is to fight. armed struggle. simple.
Frank Sha Francois Shakur: Zale I say we must be willing to defend ourselves, in all manners and fronts. if necessary we most be willing to die doing so..But we don’t have any helicopters,,we have no hospitals,, most of don’t know how to field dress a wound..I will not advise my brothers and sisters to willing go into a slaughter-house to be slaughter by the most brutal vicious and well-funded military the world has ever known…
Zale Thompson: Helicopters, big military will be useless on their own soil. They will not be able to defeat our people if we used guerilla warfare. Attack their weak flanks: Transportation, Economy, Public, Businesses, etc. If you get wounded who cares. If you die who cares. Eventually they will surrender and gives us our demand, and then the war will be over. America’s military is strong abroad, but they have never faced an internal mass revolt. They are weaker at home. We are scattered and decentralized, we can use this as an advantage. They are centralized and strong, which can be exploited as a weakness. Think of a swarm of bees (negroes) that surround and attack an elephant (America) to death.
Frank Sha Francois Shakur: I feel you Zale Thompson,, I love your passion I say we starve the beast by refusing to give it our money.
Zale Thompson: The beast will not starve. He eats from all nations. His head must be chopped off. The Negro is the only nation of people who are in proximity of chopping the head of the beast. The foreign nations, Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, the enemies of America, they do not have our geo-political position. Therefore we must chop his head off. If we can’t reach his head, then chop his hands and feet off. We have already had black wall street, negro politicians, marching, voting, turning-the-other-cheek, town hall meetings, civil rights, blah blah blah, and this doesn’t work. The only thing we have not tried is war. We must declare war against the united states. In the heart of man he knows he must fight, he only ignores his conscience because he has been demoralized and afraid, and makes excuses. But he must fight. There’s no other solution.
Frank Sha Francois Shakur: My man Zale you make a compelling..Point very hard to argue with, Its true the beast is feeding of all nations..But I believe the meat on his plate comes from our tax dollars and our obsession with consumerism supporting their big business.
Zale Thompson: No regardless of his economy or wealth he kills our sons. It’s usually the poor whites, rednecks, or random white civilian that kills our black youth. And for no other reason than they are racist etc. All people follow and consume to a certain extent. This is normal. It is a distraction to be concerned about people’s’ spending habits whether good or bad. And people usually follow the popular leaders and the popular culture, which in America, happens to be dominated and controlled by white people. Therefore the American white people must be defeated in war. His power must be taken from him and his blood must be shed. You can’t collect taxes if you are dead, or build mega-businesses to exploit people if you are dead.”

Last week, on October 16, Shakur urged Thompson to “come out to our next event.”
Zale Thompson replied: “I will come to the event just as long as it doesn’t involve socialism or communism.”
Thompson attended a rally, along with several thousand other New Yorker’s, protesting police brutality on Wednesday that ended in Times Square.
Thursday, he took a hatchet out of a black bag and tried to kill 4 white policemen.
America needs to not just talk at each other. America needs to listen to each other.