Judas And The Black Messiah: 5 Things It Gets Right About The True Story (& 5 Things It Changes)

The new movie Judas and the Black Messiah has been met with critical praise and Oscar buzz, and for good reason. It is a gripping and powerful movie that tells an incredible true story. LaKeith Stanfield stars as William O’Neal who was recruited by the FBI in the 1960s to infiltrate the Black Panther Party and spy on its chairman, Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya).

The movie takes a look at not only the highly controversial and corrupt investigation but also Hampton’s own life as this hugely influential figure. Of course, as with any movie based on true events, some of it sticks to the facts while other details have been changed.

10 True: The Ice Cream Arrest

The movie depicts the FBI, and especially J. Edgar Hoover (Martin Sheen), becoming obsessed with bringing down Hampton by any means necessary. This includes finding any charge they can lay on him to get him off the streets. As a result, Hampton is arrested for allegedly stealing $71 dollars worth of ice cream.

This was in fact a crime Hampton was charged for, and he was even sentenced to multiple years in prison for the crime. However, while the ice cream vendor claimed it was Hampton that robbed him, several other witnesses placed Hampton nowhere near the scene of the alleged crime.

9 Changed: O’Neal Driving Hampton

After being recruited by the FBI to become an informant, O’Neal infiltrates the organization on a small level. In order to help him get closer to Hampton, the FBI gives him a car so that he can become a driver for Hampton.

In reality, O’Neal’s strong work ethic within the organization is what allowed him to rise through the ranks. He eventually became the head of Hampton’s security detail and one of his bodyguards, but was never his driver.

8 True: The Young Patriots

The movie does a great job of showing how Hampton is such a strong orator that he can really make just about any group of people see the sense in what he is saying. This is best shown in one scene in which Hampton visits a meeting for a group called the Young Patriots, a group of white southerners, and convinced them to join his Rainbow Coalition.

Indeed, Hampton did start the Rainbow Coalition, and he did actually persuade the Young Patriots to join him in his mission.

7 Changed: The Crowns

Another scene that shows Hampton’s ability to turn enemies into allies is when he visits the headquarters of a Black gang known as the Crowns and meets with their leader. Despite the tension the Crowns have towards the Black Panthers, Hampton once again succeeds.

Hampton did actually work closely with Black gangs at the time and even helped broker peace between several of the feuding gangs. However, the Crowns are a fictional gang and most likely meant to be a stand-in for some of the real gangs at the time.

6 True: FBI’s Disinformation Campaign

While meeting with the Crowns’ leader, he presents Hampton with a pamphlet that was apparently written by the Black Panthers and was highly negative of the Crowns. But it was actually the FBI who wrote it to divide any alliances being formed.

It is true that the FBI would use such disinformation tactics in an attempt to cause more trouble for the Panthers. They were also known for falsely identifying Black Panther members as FBI informants, which is hinted at with the murder of Alex Rackley.

5 Changed: The George Sams Plot

At one point in the movie, a Black Panther member named George Sams arrives at the Chicago headquarters and hides out, as he is on the run from the authorities for the murder of Rackley. Sam states that Rackley was an informant who was tortured and killed. However, it is later revealed that Sams is the real informant and was used as a ploy so the FBI could raid the headquarters.

In reality, Sams did become a witness for the FBI and testified that Bobby Seale ordered the murder of Rackley. However, Sams only started cooperating with the FBI after he was arrested for the murder.

4 True: O’Neal Pushing More Violence

When O’Neal grows more desperate to end his arrangement with the FBI, he wears a wire and attempts to get Hampton to authorize a violent attack. O’Neal shows Hampton a case of explosives and suggests they blow up City Hall, which Hampton is completely against.

According to Black Panther members at the time, O’Neal was often pushing for more violent acts but Hampton and the other leaders were always very much opposed to these suggestions.

3 Changed: O’Neal’s Allegiance

A big part of the movie explores O’Neal’s conflict with his position and his increasing belief in the Black Panther Party. As his FBI handler (Jesse Plemons) tells him after seeing him as a rally, O’Neal is really starting to believe all of this.

In reality, when O’Neal spoke publicly on the matter, he showed no remorse for what he did. He also insisted that his role within the Black Panther Party was all part of his job as an informant, and he had no allegiance to them.

2 True: The Raid

The most harrowing and terrifying moment in the movie is the raid sequence, which leads to the assassination of Fred Hampton. It is hard to watch as the law enforcement agents burst into the small apartment filled with Black Panther members and start shooting without provocation. After being drugged by O’Neal, Hampton is unresponsive and is shot dead in cold blood by the police.

Though the police initially claimed that they only returned fire after the Black Panthers fired on them, the subsequent investigation showed that the police fired close to 100 shots while the Panthers only fired once, and that was done by Mark Clark after he had been shot in the heart. The surviving members also testified to the taunting words the police said before executing Hampton.

1 Changed: The Ages

One of the biggest changes to the movie is arguably one that would have made the movie an even more compelling story. While Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield are 31 and 29 years old, respectively, Fred Hampton and William O’Neal were 21 and 17 years old at the time of these events.

The fact that Hampton was able to accomplish this much and become such a powerful and influential figure might have made his character even more compelling had they cast someone younger. Likewise, the fact that O’Neal was just a kid speaks makes his decisions and the FBI’s handling of him more impactful.

About The Author

Colin McCormick
(2030 Articles Published)

Colin McCormick is a Senior Writer with Screen Rant and has been a proud member of the team since 2019. In addition to his work as Screen Rant, Colin is also a writer of News, Feature and Review pieces at Game Rant. Colin has had a long passion and obsession with movies going back to the first time he saw The Lion King in theaters. Along with movies, Colin stays up-to-date on the latest must-see TV shows. While he loves to find interesting projects in any kind of genre, he has a special movie of crime stories that are infused with a little dark humor much like the work of his favorite author, Elmore Leonard.

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