Hijacker. He gained international notoriety as an American terrorist who hijacked a commercial passenger aircraft. In 1968, as an ex-convict, he attended a Black Panther Party rally in Oakland and walked away possessing a new world view. He became a member, pledged allegiance, rose to the rank of captain and served as bodyguard for party leader Eldridge Cleaver. With other party members in 1969, he robbed a gas station and shot and wounded two police officers. After his arrest and release on bail, he made up his mind not to await trial. On June 17, 1969, he made international news when he used a handgun to hijack TWA Flight 154 from San Francisco to Havana. He conducted the hijacking alone with none of the 76 people aboard the Boeing 707 being harmed. In Cuba, Brent was not greeted with welcome, he was convicted, sent to jail and served 22 months hard time in a Cuban prison. When released from prison he worked in sugar cane fields, on a pig farm and as a radio disc jockey. He earned a Spanish literature degree from the University of Havana and taught English at junior and senior high schools. He sometimes met with visiting foreigners and journalists to speak about the Cuban revolution, but he never became a Cuban citizen. In a 1996 AP interview he said, "I am an American, an African-American, a black man and my fight was always in the United States." He died of bronchial pneumonia.
Hijacker. He gained international notoriety as an American terrorist who hijacked a commercial passenger aircraft. In 1968, as an ex-convict, he attended a Black Panther Party rally in Oakland and walked away possessing a new world view. He became a member, pledged allegiance, rose to the rank of captain and served as bodyguard for party leader Eldridge Cleaver. With other party members in 1969, he robbed a gas station and shot and wounded two police officers. After his arrest and release on bail, he made up his mind not to await trial. On June 17, 1969, he made international news when he used a handgun to hijack TWA Flight 154 from San Francisco to Havana. He conducted the hijacking alone with none of the 76 people aboard the Boeing 707 being harmed. In Cuba, Brent was not greeted with welcome, he was convicted, sent to jail and served 22 months hard time in a Cuban prison. When released from prison he worked in sugar cane fields, on a pig farm and as a radio disc jockey. He earned a Spanish literature degree from the University of Havana and taught English at junior and senior high schools. He sometimes met with visiting foreigners and journalists to speak about the Cuban revolution, but he never became a Cuban citizen. In a 1996 AP interview he said, "I am an American, an African-American, a black man and my fight was always in the United States." He died of bronchial pneumonia.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
Advertisement
