Files show FBI suspected JDL of extorting Tupac

Jewish Defense League threatened famously murdered rapper, provided bodyguards for hip-hop stars, according to released FBI documents.

By LAHAV HARKOV
tupac shakur 311 (photo credit: REUTERS)
tupac shakur 311
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The FBI released files this week on the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996, revealing that the Jewish Defense League (JDL) was suspected of “extorting money from various rap-music stars via death threats, including Shakur and another performer, Eazy-E.
“The scheme involves [name redacted] and other subjects making telephonic death threats to the rap star,” the files state. “Subjects then intercede by contacting the victim and offering protection for a fee. The victim and their family are taken to a ‘safe haven,’ usually a private estate, and are protected by gun-toting body guards associated with the Jewish Defense League.”
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After the victims were brought to the “safe havens,” the JDL would allegedly “convince the victim they have worked a ‘deal’ out... and the threats cease. The victim then pays the subjects for the protection services rendered.”
An unidentified source identified Eazy-E as a target of the JDL’s extortion before he died from AIDS. Another source from within the JDL “had also reportedly targeted Tupac Shakur prior to his murder in Las Vegas,” the files state.