After nearly half a century in prison for the 1975 killings of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Leonard Peltier's sentence has been commuted by President Biden. Peltier's case has long been intertwined with the Indigenous rights movement, with many arguing his conviction was unjust and part of a broader history of government oppression against Native Americans.
The fight for Peltier’s freedom is entangled with the Indigenous rights movements. Nearly half a century later, Peltier’s name remains a rallying cry.as recently as July and wasn’t 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 Biden issued a record number of individual pardons and commutations.
Outgoing Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American Cabinet member, posted on X that the commutation ″signifies 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.”
The movement grabbed headlines in 1973 when it took over the village of Wounded Knee on Pine Ridge — the Oglala Lakota Nation's reservation — leading to a 71-day standoff with federal agents. Two other movement members and Peltier's co-defendants, Robert Robideau and Dino Butler, were acquitted in the killings of Coler and Williams.
Law enforcement officers, former FBI agents, their families and prosecutors strongly opposed a pardon or any reduction in Peltier’s sentence. Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama rejected Peltier’s clemency requests, and he was denied parole in 1993, 2009 and 2024.“There 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 statement.
Indigenous Rights Leonard Peltier Indigenous Rights Commutation Biden FBI Pine Ridge American Indian Movement
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