NYPD cop killer appears with NY Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado at campaign event against Hochul

ALBANY – Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado embarked on a “State of the People” listening tour this week, but one of the New Yorkers he took the time to hear out was a former member of the Black Liberation Army who spent nearly 50 years behind bars for killing two NYPD cops in the 1970s. 

Anthony Bottom, who now goes by Jalil Muntaqim, was released on parole in October 2020 after serving 49 years behind bars for murdering NYPD Officers Waverly Jones and Joseph Piagentini as a member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army in May 1971.

Delgado’s campaign posted photos of a listening session he held at a diner in Rochester on Wednesday that shows Muntaqim among a handful of people seated at a table next to the LG — who is running to unseat incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul after publicly splitting with her in 2024 when he called for then-President Joe Biden to step down.

Antonio Delgado was joined by Jalil Muntaqim, a convicted cop killer, during his listening tour this week. Antonio Delgado / Facebook

The lieutenant governor’s team wouldn’t comment on Muntaqim’s attendance at the event, only saying that he does not work for the campaign.

But it drew outrage, including from the New York City’s police union.

“Anthony Bottom is a heartless assassin who claims he was a ‘political prisoner’ because he murdered two New York City police officers in cold blood,” said Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry.

“Any elected official or office-seeker who listens to him will take our state in a very dangerous direction.”

Muntaqim is a “special projects coordinator” for liberal activist group Citizen Action, and can be seen wearing a sweatshirt with the organization’s logo at the event.

NYPD Officers Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones were murdered in 1971. NYPD

“He is an extremely valued member of our staff and an extremely well-respected member of the Rochester community,” Citizen Action Co-Executive Director Rebecca Garrard said in a statement.

“No one is defined by their worst moments in time.”

Citizen Action has endorsed Delgado for governor.

Muntaqim could not be reached for comment Friday.

“We are heartbroken to see another of Joe’s killers set free by politics. But more than anything else, we are angry,” Diane Piagentini, Joseph’s widow, said in a statement after Muntaqim was paroled in 2020.