Who is parolee Jalil Muntaqim, and why has he been in the news?

Jalil Abdul Muntaqim was born Anthony Bottom in California in 1951. Muntaqim joined the Black Panther Party at age 16 and the Black Liberation Army at 18. During this period of his life, police shootings of young Black men were frequent.

After being convicted in the Harlem killing of two New York City Police Department patrolmen — Waverley M. Jones and Joseph A. Piagentini — Muntaqim and two others, Herman Bell and Albert "Nuh" Washington, were sent to prison. Muntaqim was arrested just two months shy of his 20th birthday.

Arrested in August 1971, Muntaqim remained in prison until October 2020, nearly 50 years behind bars and multiple parole denials later. During his incarceration, Muntaqim became a father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather, a mentor, a scholar, a several-times-over published author and a faith leader.

More:When will atonement come for Jalil Muntaqim?

Why is he in the news?

This time last year, Muntaqim was catapulted again into the national spotlight during a campaign for his release.

The COVID-19 pandemic that swept across the world hit prisons hard. Muntaqim’s legal team applied for his medical release. Citing his age and health issues, his team argued that Muntaqim was significantly at risk for contracting the virus.

A court ordered his release, but Attorney General Letitia James appealed the order on  behalf of New York's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Muntaqim contracted the virus and then, because of his condition, the state argued that he was ineligible for medical release.

Months later, he came up for parole again and was released from prison.

What was the controversy?

Almost immediately after being released into a Rochester suburb, Muntaqim filled out paperwork that was given to him by the state.

The paperwork, intended to help him readjust to life outside of prison, included a voter registration form. Muntaqim filled out the documents, including the voter registration form. Local Republican party leadership accused him of having broken the law and wrote to the Monroe County District Attorney.

Last week, a grand jury chose not to indict Muntaqim, his public defender confirmed Wednesday.

Muntaqim lobbied for voting rights for inmates while incarcerated.

More:Supporters of parolee facing felony charges for enrolling to vote gather 14,000 signatures

More:Controversial parolee to stay free as he faces voting fraud charges

More:GOP claims parolee committed voter fraud; lawyer calls attack political

Is his name Anthony Bottom or Jalil Muntaqim?

Both.

He was born Anthony Bottom, but converted to Islam while incarcerated. In accordance with his faith, Anthony Bottom was reborn as Jalil Muntaqim.

The name change was not legal, nor was it recognized by the state. For that reason, legal documents, along with some media coverage, continue to refer to Muntaqim as Anthony Bottom or by the numerical ID he was assigned in prison. 

He publishes and speaks using the name Jalil Muntaqim, which is also the name his friends, family and supporters use for him.

What is COINTELPRO?

It is hard to overstate the heightened tension between police departments, federal law enforcement and communities of color in the period when Jalil Muntaqim came of age.

COINTELPRO, according to the Church Committee, “is the FBI acronym for a series of covert action programs directed against domestic groups.” Since the mid-1950s, the group has not only worked as a collection intelligence, but, using wartime techniques, actively worked to “disrupt” and “neutralize” both groups and individuals, the report states.

COINTELPRO historically targeted Black organizations and people by using a blanket term — “Black Nationalist program” — to describe them. Officially, one month before the police killings, COINTELPRO shutdown. The death of the two policeman resonated all the way the White House, as five days later then-President Richard Nixon met with then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and told him to solve the case. 

Are other Black Panthers still in prison?

Jalil Muntaqim is not the only former Black Panther or former Black Liberation Army member to have served (or currently be serving) a long prison sentence.

Other former Panthers, such as Sundiata Acoli and Mumia Abu-Jamal, are in the national spotlight as well.

Acoli, convicted with Assata Shakur in 1974 for the shooting death of a New Jersey state trooper, is now 84 years old and in poor health. He has been eligible for parole for three decades.

His most recent parole bid in February of this year was denied. Mumia Abu-Jamal, a journalist who joined the Philadelphia Chapter of the Black Panther Party in 1967 when he was 15, was convicted in 1982 for the murder of a Philadelphia police officer. Abu-Jamal also is extremely ill.

Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rap Brown, 77, was sentenced to life for a crime to which another man confessed.

Ed Poindexter has been incarcerated since 1970. Ruchell "Cinque" Magee, the longest-held political prisoner, has been incarcerated since 1963. 

Romaine "Chip" Fitzgerald, the longest-held former Black Panther, was incarcerated from 1969 until his death March 30, 2020.

Adria R. Walker covers public education for the Democrat and Chronicle in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on Twitter at @adriawalkr or send her an email at arwalker@gannett.com. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America.