Cop Killers as Political Heroes, Part 1 [OPINION]

There are people who worship and support convicted cop killers in America. They are proud and they are successful in their advocacy for murderers. The most famous and supported cop killer in America is Mumia Abu Jamal. He was convicted in 1982 of murdering Philidelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in cold blood. Mumia was found at the crime scene, which had started at 4 a.m. as a traffic stop, with a bullet wound from Officer Faulkner's gun and in possession of the gun that had been used to fire the bullets that killed Faulkner. The gun in Mumia's possession, the murder weapon, was registered to the same man known as Mumia Abu-Jamal.

CNN host Michael Smerconish has worked hard to counteract the phony narrative and lies advanced by the celebrities and left wing political activists who support this convicted cop killer. Smerconish teamed up with Faulkner's widow to write a book about the case, and he is constantly battling the professional public relations campaign of Mumia.

The supporters of Mumia are almost as sick as the murderer they admire and love. According to the Los Angeles Times, they take joy in torturing the slain officer's widow in public: "In past court appearances, she has been spat upon and cursed by Abu-Jamal supporters, for no reason other than her unwavering belief in justice for her husband's killer. 'Now I'll probably have to relive the whole thing once more," she says. "I'll have to hear Mumia supporters screaming at me and pointing their fingers like they're shooting at me. It's been over 20 years now. Is there any regard for the survivors of crime?'"

The supporters of convicted cop killer Mumia Abu Jamal are not a fringe group of radicals. In 1999, more than 23 public high schools in New York City held a pro-Mumia teach-in that was organized by teachers, administrators and students. The event featured speakers who support Mumia and classes on the written works of the convicted cop killer. The event received the support of several teacher's union leaders, but not the full endorsement of the United Federation of Teachers.

The NYC teachers were inspired by the Mumia event done months earlier in Oakland, CA. This pro-Mumia event was sponsored by the Oakland teachers union and featured the cop killers attorney, Leonard Weinglass, who gave numerous presentations to high school students. Thousands of children, from elementary to high school, were force-fed propaganda about the virtues of a cop killer by his supporters. The local NAACP joined with law enforcement leaders to criticize the pro-Mumia event.

In 2015, a public school teacher in Orange, NJ was suspended for ordering her third-grade students write "get well' letters to Mumia Abu-Jamal. The convicted murderer was recovering from complications related to diabetes. The teacher was having 8-and-9-year-old children write to a convicted murderer in prison - let that sink in. The teacher was suspended with pay and ultimately terminated. The Mumia-supporting teacher continues to bother the school and waste school funds and time with meetings, rallies and lawsuits.

Mumia Abu Jamal serves on the Board of Directors of the National Lawyers Guild.

He gave the graduation speech at Evergreen State College in the State of Washington in 1999. The speech was actually a tape recording, because the guest of honor was serving a life sentence in prison and therefore unavailable. Washington Gov. Gary Locke, a Democrat, refused to attend the graduation that year.

In 2014, Mumia again delivered a commencement speech to a college graduation. He spoke to his alma mater, Goddard College in Vermont, by use of a tape recorder. He graduated from Goddard College in 1996 while in prison.

There is a street in France named after the convicted cop killer. In 2006, the U.S. House voted to condemn the naming of the street for Mumia. Every Democrat in Massachusetts voted with the majority to condemn the action. The ranking member of the Black Caucus, John Conyers, spoke against the resolution and demanded a roll call vote on the issue.

More than 10 percent of the members of Congress who voted in favor of naming the street for the convicted cop killer have been or are currently in prison.

Congressman Bobby Rush, a Chicago Democrat, was a member of the Black Panther Party and was in prison for illegal firearms, joined those voting in favor of the street named after Mumia. He had already named one of his sons after a convicted cop killer at that point anyway, so he wasn't bashful about his feelings for the police and those who murder them.

Rep. Barbara Lee, a Democrat from Oakland, Calif., is now a serious candidate for a leadership position among the congressional Democrats, and she supported the street named after the cop killer.

California Rep. Maxine Waters stood with Mumia Abu-Jamal on this vote. She is currently the ranking Democrat member on the House Financial Services Committee and is poised to become the chairman over banking, insurance, stocks, bonds, money, credit and housing laws in America. A person who supports a convicted cop killer will have more power than almost anyone in the world.

Celebrities like Ed Asner, Whoopie Goldberg, Spike Lee, Alec Baldwin, Paul Newman, Sting, Oliver Stone, Mike Farrell, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Michael Moore and Cornel West all have supported Mumia Abu-Jamal since he was convicted of killing Daniel Faulkner.

He has even drawn Kerry Kennedy Cuomo into his camp of celebrity supporters. She tragically lost her father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, to a radical with a pistol, yet she joins in the support of a murderer. Bill Ayers, a leader in the Weather Underground terrorist organization dedicated one of his books to Sirhan Sirhan, the man convicted of murdering Robert Kennedy. Bill Ayers has a picture of Mumia Abu-Jamal on his office door, according to the Chicago Tribune. Christopher Kennedy has bucked the radical trend in the Democrat Party and condemned Bill Ayers, but his sister has made common cause with Ayers in support of a cop killer.

"There can be no place in a democracy to celebrate political assassinations or to honor those who do so," Christopher Kennedy told his fellow board members of the University of Illinois at Chicago when he voted against Bill Ayers request for the prestigious title of Professor Emeritus. The university board voted unanimously with Kennedy to shun Ayers and condemn political murders.

I believe Christopher Kennedy, who was four years old when his father was murdered, knows that Ayers has more than just a political ideology in common with Mumia. There is significant evidence linking Bill Ayers to the death of a police officer in San Francisco during his time as a violent radical who was making a political statement with bombs. Today he brags about being "guilty as sin and free as a bird."

The good people of America and particularly Weymouth, Mass. are mourning the murder of police officer Michael Chesna. In 1981, the good people of Philadelphia were mourning the murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner.

Today, that convicted cop killer has international tributes, congressional supporters, wealthy celebrities, unions and teachers all pushing his lies. Maureen Faulkner is stalked and harassed for the crime of keeping her husband's memory and the truth of his murder alive in the face of a mob.

Mumia isn't the only celebrated murderer of a police officer, and I will bring forward some more names of the killers and the twisted souls who support them. It is up to the good people of America to educate the public about the war on police and the people who are actively supporting the killers and rewarding them for their murderous efforts to undermine law and order.

Chris McCarthy is the host of The Chris McCarthy Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Contact him at chris.mccarthy@townsquaremedia.com and follow him on Twitter @Chris_topher_Mc. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.