On Monday, his last day in office as governor of New York, Democrat Andrew Cuomo granted clemency to David Gilbert, a Weather Underground member who was convicted of murder and also happens to be the father of hard-left San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who had lobbied for his father’s release.
Boudin told The Associated Press, “On the eve of my first child’s birth, my father, David Gilbert, has been granted clemency. Although he never used a gun or intended for anyone to get hurt, my father’s crime caused unspeakable harm and devastated the lives of many separate families. I will continue to keep those families in my heart,” The San Francisco Chronicle reported.
As the Daily Mail explained:
Boudin’s father, David Gilbert, 76, was convicted of felony murder in connection with the infamous Brinks’ heist in 1981, which left two police officers and a guard dead, while his mother, Kathy Boudin, was also convicted in the crime and paroled in 2003. Gilbert was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison for his role in the robbery which saw members of the Weather Underground and Black Liberation Army steal $1.6 million from a Brink’s armored truck at a suburban Rockland County mall in upstate New York. Sgt. Edward O’Grady and Officer Waverly Brown from the Nyack Police Department and Brink’s guard Peter Paige were all killed.
The San Francisco Chronicle pointed out at his trial, Gilbert “and two co-defendants cast themselves as freedom fighters and deemed their trial illegitimate. At one court session, Gilbert and co-defendant Judith Clark raised their fists and shouted ‘Free the land!’”
Bronson Stocking of Townhall noted, “After his parents killed the cops, Boudin was sent to live with two other terrorists, Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn. Dohrn declared war on the United States and was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. Ayers bombed the Pentagon, the U.S. Capitol building, and the New York City Police Department before he and Dohrn became fugitives and went into hiding. The pair eventually came out of hiding and settled in as university professors.”
New York Republican Assemblymember Mike Lawler ripped Cuomo for granting Gilbert clemency: “Andrew Cuomo’s final act as governor is a disgusting betrayal to the people of Rockland County. This year will mark the 40th anniversary of the Brink’s Robbery and rather than stand with the brave men and women in law enforcement, Andrew Cuomo has once again stabbed them in the back.”
Bernard Goldberg, in his book “Arrogance: Rescuing America From The Media Elite,” quoted Chesa Boudin bemoaning his parents’ incarceration, complaining to The New York Times, “My parents were dedicated to fighting U.S. imperialism around the world. I’m dedicated to the same thing … I’m sad that that my parents have to suffer what they have to suffer on a daily basis, that millions of other people have to suffer as well.”
Goldberg wrote: “While we hear much about Chesa Boudin’s suffering and hardships, and about the suffering and hardships of the poor around the world, neither the Times nor our Ivy-League educated Rhodes scholar tells us anything about the suffering of other children much closer to home —the nine children left behind by the policemen and the guard who were murdered, in cold blood, with the help of Chesa Boudin’s parents. On this the Times and young Mr Boudin are silent. They say not a word.”
Boudin has called the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) racist, snapping, “There are lots of situations in San Francisco where ICE is making arrests. We know it’s racist, we know it’s targeting immigrants, and unfortunately right now no one in the DA’s office has the resources or the mandate to investigate those interactions.”
In late February, Boudin celebrated online after his father got his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. He tweeted, “Amazing news: My incarcerated father just got his first vaccine shot! I hope that once I get my vaccine, and the prison reopens for visitors, I will be able to see him again for the first time in over a year.”
Amazing news:
My incarcerated father just got his first vaccine shot!
I hope that once I get my vaccine, and the prison reopens for visitors, I will be able to see him again for the first time in over a year.
— Vote NO on H!!!! – Chesa Boudin 博徹思 (@chesaboudin) February 26, 2021
Inez Stepman of The Federalist commented on Boudin’s celebratory tweet: “There are elderly people not in prison for participating in a robbery that lead to murder who can’t get a vaccine slot in California. I’m generally all in on every shot in an arm being a good thing but this is ridiculous.”
There are elderly people not in prison for participating in a robbery that lead to murder who can’t get a vaccine slot in California. I’m generally all in on every shot in an arm being a good thing but this is ridiculous. https://t.co/q6zULVerum
— Inez Stepman ⚪️🔴⚪️ (@InezFeltscher) February 26, 2021