As a young man, Mutulu Shakur became involved in politics, first with the Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM) and then with the more moderate Republic of New Afrika. In 1981, a guard and two police officers were killed during the heist of a Brinks armored truck in which American activist Mutulu Shakur participated. Consequently, Shakur was sentenced to sixty years in prison for his involvement in the robbery. The United States Parole Commission approved Shakur for parole on November 10, 2022; his release date was set for December 16, 2022. The Commission stated that Shakur posed no further threat of criminal activity due to his terminal illness. Seven months after his release from Prison, Mutulu Shakur died on July 6, 2023, at the age of 72. He was Tupac Shakur's stepfather.