A relative of late Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton is threatening legal action against a newly formed, Philadelphia-based faction claiming ties to the group.
Myesha Newton, the niece of the revolutionary activist, took to social media to issue a warning to Paul Birdsong, a member of a modern group using the name Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, The Grio reports. After Birdsong and the group drew attention in recent weeks for intervening to protect ICE protesters, Newton has spoken out, accusing the new Black Panther Party of tarnishing her late uncle’s legacy.
“My name is Myesha Newton. My father’s name was Walter Newton. He was the brother of Huey Percy Newton, who started the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California,” Myesha said at the start of her video. “I got birth certificate paperwork and a whole bunch of Newtons … listen, this goes out to the Black Panther Party, the New United Black Panther Party, whoever’s out there protesting with these Somalians? I’m about to get a cease and desist order against you, and I’m about to sue you. You are not going to defame my uncle’s name like that. We’re not doing that. See you in court, b-tches.”
Birdsong has drawn fresh attention as the outspoken national chairman of a contemporary Black Panther Party for Self-Defense chapter based in West Philadelphia.
“That wouldn’t have happened if we were there,” Birdsong told reporters. “Not a single person would have gotten touched.”
Chairman Paul Birdsong from a newly formed Black Panther Party in Philly:“An unarmed woman was killed by ICE…so we’re here to protect the community. If ICE thinks they’re going to brutalize the people on our watch? Fuck around and find out.” pic.twitter.com/GYTpWIY1Zu— Power to the People ☭🕊 (@ProudSocialist) January 15, 2026
Critics have raised questions about the group’s use of historic Panther imagery and its tactics amid nationwide protests over immigration enforcement. The use of the Black Panther Party name has also stirred internal tension within the Newton family, with Rico Dukes—who claims to be Newton’s son—saying he personally approved the Philadelphia chapter and gave it his blessing.
“I had been watching him for a few months, and then I finally called him to give him my blessings and standing how the Panthers stood in 1966,” Dukes said in an Instagram video. “It’s many elders from the 1966 Panther Party that vouch for his chapter.”
Dukes also dismissed Myesha Newton’s threats of legal action, saying the only person with standing to sue would be Huey P. Newton’s widow, Fredrika Newton.
“If anybody who probably could [sue] is Fredrika. She can’t do it because the trademark wiped up, so you’re on here just talkin’,” Dukes said.
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Source: Black Enterprise
