Judas and the Black Messiah true story: What's fact and what's fiction in the Fred Hampton assassination movie.
Judas and the Black Messiah is based on the true story of FBI informant William O’Neal and his role in the 1969 killing of Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. It took years for the facts around Hampton’s killing to become public, thanks to a vigorous government effort to cover them up. While the movie, directed by Shaka King from a screenplay he wrote with Will Berson, stays relatively faithful to history, it does take some liberties with the historical record—including by filling in some of its blanks. Here’s what’s real and what’s invented.