A judge rejected the state’s case and ordered his release Wednesday. His defense attorney argued the complaining witness engineered his arrest.
Chairman Fred Hampton Jr., son of the slain legendary Black Panther revolutionary, walked out of Cook County Jail on Wednesday after a judge ruled the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office failed to prove he posed a real and imminent threat to an archivist who accused him of putting her life in danger.
Hampton Jr., 56, president and chairman of the Prisoners of Conscience Committee and Black Panther Party Cubs (POCC/BPPC), had been detained June 2 following a court appearance in Domestic Violence Court at 555 W. Harrison. He was charged with Violation of a No Contact Order under 720 ILCS 5/12-3.9(a), filed Dec. 4, 2025, in the Circuit Court of Cook County.
The charge stemmed from Hampton Jr.’s attendance at his annual Dec. 3 memorial for his father, Chairman Fred Hampton Sr., at 2337 W. Chairman Fred Hampton Way on Chicago’s West Side. According to court records, the well-known community activist had been served with a no-contact order in open court that same day. Willis was also present at the memorial that night, though Hampton’s defense argued she may have intentionally made an appearance to spark an arrest…