Biden commutes sentence of Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier
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Members of the Kalpulli Yaocenoxtli and other activists look on during a protest outside of the White House to urge President Biden to grant Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier clemency. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
President Biden commuted the life sentence of indigenous activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents in a case long disputed by Native American advocates.
Why it matters: Native American and American Indian Movement (AIM) activists for decades sought a pardon or commuted sentence for Peltier, who has drawn celebrities like Robert Redford, Kris Kristofferson and the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu to his cause.
- Peltier will now transition to home confinement, AP reported.
Catch up quick: Peltier was arrested following the Wounded Knee occupation of 1973 at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation amid violence and political turmoil.
- Two FBI agents were killed during a shootout that allegedly involved 40 AIM activists.
- A jury found Peltier guilty, but witnesses later said the FBI forced them to testify against him.
Zoom in: Activists have long claimed that the charges against Peltier were part of a larger fight against AIM, a 1960s radical movement out of Minneapolis that sought to fight police brutality and discrimination.
The intrigue: The half-century fight to free Peltier has sparked countless movies, songs, art and poetry.
- Free Peltier posters have been a mainstay at powwows and other Indigenous gatherings.
The other side: Natalie Bara, president of the FBI Agents Association, denounced the move by Biden in a statement and stood by Peltier's murder convictions of FBI Special Agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams.
- "This last-second, disgraceful act by then-President Biden, which does not change Peltier's guilt but does release him from prison, is cowardly and lacks accountability," she said.
Context: Peltier, 80, is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa in North Dakota and was active in AIM.
- His supporters say he has diabetes, high blood pressure and a heart condition.
What they're saying: "President Biden took an enormous step toward healing and reconciliation with the Native American people in this country," Kevin Sharp, Peltier's lawyer, said in a statement.
- "It took nearly 50 years to acknowledge the injustice of Leonard Peltier's conviction and continued incarceration, but with the President's act of mercy, Leonard can finally return to his reservation and live out his remaining days."
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from the FBI Agents Association and Peltier's attorney.
