WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Just moments before leaving office, President Joe Biden commuted the life sentence of Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents.
Peltier was denied parole and wasn鈥檛 eligible for parole again until 2026. He was serving life in prison for the killings during a standoff on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He will transition to home confinement, Biden said in a statement.
Biden issued a record number of and commutations. He announced Friday that he was commuting the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, and he issued a broad pardon to his son Hunter, who was prosecuted for gun and tax crimes.
Chauncey Peltier, who was 10 when his father was locked up, was shocked and thrilled.
鈥淚t means my dad finally gets to go home,鈥� Peltier said. 鈥淥ne of the biggest rights violation cases in history and one of the longest-held political prisoners in the United States. And he gets to go home finally. Man, I can鈥檛 explain how I feel.鈥�
Peltier's tribe, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, has a home ready for him on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota, his son said.
Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Emery Nelson said Peltier remained incarcerated Monday at USP Coleman, a high-security prison in Florida.
Outgoing Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American Cabinet member, posted on X that the commutation 鈥硈ignifies a measure of justice that has long evaded so many Native Americans for so many decades. I am grateful that Leonard can now go home to his family. I applaud President Biden for this action and understanding what this means to Indian Country.鈥�
is entangled with the Indigenous rights movements. Nearly half a century later, his name remains a rallying cry.
Peltier was active in the American Indian Movement, which has grappled with police brutality and discrimination against Native Americans .
The movement in 1973 when it took over the on Pine Ridge 鈥� the Oglala Lakota Nation's reservation 鈥� leading to a 71-day standoff with federal agents.
On June 26, 1975, agents went to Pine Ridge to serve arrest warrants amid battles over Native treaty rights and self-determination.
After being injured in a shootout, agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams were shot in the head at close range, the FBI said. AIM member Joseph Stuntz was also killed.
Two other movement members and Peltier's co-defendants, Robert Robideau and Dino Butler, were acquitted in the killings of Coler and Williams.
After fleeing to Canada, Peltier was extradited to the United States and convicted of two counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1977, despite defense claims of falsified evidence.
Biden鈥檚 action Monday follows decades of lobbying and protests by Native American leaders and others who maintain Peltier was wrongfully convicted. Amnesty International has long considered him a political prisoner. Advocates for his release have included Archbishop Desmond Tutu, civil rights icon Coretta Scott King, actor and director Robert Redford, and musicians Pete Seeger, Harry Belafonte and Jackson Browne.
Law enforcement officers, former FBI agents, their families and prosecutors strongly opposed a pardon or any reduction in Peltier鈥檚 sentence. Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama rejected Peltier鈥檚 clemency requests, and he was denied parole in 1993, 2009 and 2024.
The No Parole Peltier Association, led by former FBI agents, issued a statement condemning the action.
鈥淭here is little doubt that the President failed to understand the details of the line-of-duty killings of FBI Agents Jack R. Coler and Ronald A. Williams," the group said in a . 鈥淐ertainly, the President did not see the dreadful crime scene photograph.鈥�
never wavered from his opposition to Peltier鈥檚 release. In a private letter sent to Biden earlier this month and obtained by The Associated Press, Wray reiterated his position that 鈥淧eltier is a remorseless killer鈥� and said he hoped the president wasn't considering a pardon or commutation.
"Granting Peltier any relief from his conviction or sentence is wholly unjustified and would be an affront to the rule of law,鈥� Wray wrote.
Peltier鈥檚 supporters pushed Biden to act because Peltier is 80 and has health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart trouble and an aortic aneurysm discovered in 2016, according to his lawyers.
Peltier's attorney, Kevin Sharp, celebrated Peltier's commutation and insisted there was never any evidence that proved Peltier was guilty.
鈥淚t recognizes the injustice of what happened in Mr. Peltier鈥檚 case," Sharp, a former federal judge, said. 鈥淎nd it sends a signal to Native Americans in Indian country that their concerns -- what has happened to them and their treatment -- isn鈥檛 going to be ignored. It鈥檚 a step toward reconciliation and healing.鈥�
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Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas, and Karnowski reported from Minneapolis. Associated Press reporters Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa; Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; and Jack Dura, in Bismarck, North Dakota, contributed.
Colleen Long, Zeke Miller, John Hanna And Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press
