News of September 1, 2000
FBI Files: Investigation into Extortion of Tupac and Eazy-E
In September 2000, it emerged: The FBI probed for years whether people around the Jewish Defense League extorted Tupac and Eazy-E with death threats.
Declassified FBI documents have revealed a previously unknown investigation. As AllHipHop reported on September 1, 2000, federal authorities investigated for about two and a half years whether individuals connected to the militant Jewish Defense League (JDL) attempted to extort money from Tupac Shakur and Eazy-E. The rappers were reportedly threatened with death over the telephone.
No Evidence, Many Redactions
The investigation ran from October 17, 1996, a good month after Tupac’s death, to May 18, 1999. The FBI could not prove anything against the group. According to a memo, Eazy-E paid a security consultant 1,000 dollars per week because he took the threats seriously. The details concerning Tupac had been largely redacted prior to release.
The JDL reacted with anger, according to a report by Sonicnet. The organization stated that it had offered Eazy-E protection after Suge Knight threatened him. The files are analyzed in detail in the magazine article “FBI Probed Extortion of Rappers by JDL Associates”.