Kuwasi Balagoon

Kuwasi Balagoon
Born	Donald Weems December 22, 1946
Died	December 13, 1986(1986-12-13) (aged 39)
Organization(s)	Black Panther Party Black Liberation Army
Movement	Cambridge movement Black Power Movement Black Liberation Black anarchism
Escaped	September 27, 1973 (first) May 7, 1978 (second)
Escape end	May 1974 (first) January 1982 (second)
Details
Victims	Waverly Brown Edward O'Grady Peter Paige
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1964–1967

Kuwasi Balagoon (December 22, 1946 – December 13, 1986), born Donald Weems, was an American political activist, anarchist and member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army. Radicalised by race riots in his home state of Maryland growing up, as well as by his experiences while serving in the US Army, Weems became the black nationalist known as Kuwasi Balagoon in New York City in the late 1960s. First becoming involved in local Afrocentric organisations in Harlem, Balagoon would move on to become involved in the New York chapter of the Black Panther Party, which quickly saw him charged and arrested for criminal behaviour. Balagoon was initially part of the Panther 21 case, in which 21 panthers were accused of planning to bomb several locations in New York City, but although the Panther 21 were later acquitted, Balagoon's case was separated off and he was convicted of a New Jersey bank robbery.

While serving his sentence, Balagoon became disillusioned with the Black Panther Party and drifted into the more radical Black Liberation Army while also ideologically embracing Black anarchism. During the 1970s Balagoon would escape prison twice, and during his second period on the run, would be involved in breaking Assata Shakur out of prison in 1979. In 1981 Balagoon was amongst the several BLA, May 19 Communist Organization and Weather Underground members involved in the 1981 Brink's robbery, which resulted in the deaths of two police officers and one security guard. Following his capture in 1982, Balagoon would be tried and sentenced to life for his involvement. While in prison, Balagoon died of pneumocystis pneumonia brought about by AIDS on 13 December 1986. He was 39 years old.