Official FBI press release or public statement

Biden Commutes Sentence of 80-Year-Old Leonard Peltier in Final Act as President

Jan 20, 2025, 05:41 PM

President Joe Biden has commuted the life sentence of Leonard Peltier, the 80-year-old Native American activist who has been in prison for nearly 50 years after being convicted in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The commutation, announced minutes before Biden left office, allows Peltier to serve the remainder of his sentence under home confinement, effective February 18. The White House declined to issue a full pardon. Peltier's release follows decades of advocacy from tribal leaders and human rights groups, including pressure from over 120 tribal leaders who raised concerns about the fairness of his trial and his health condition. Peltier is considered the longest-held Native American political prisoner. The FBI has opposed the commutation, with Director Christopher Wray expressing strong objections in a letter to the president.