34 Members of Congress Urge President Biden to Pardon Leonard Peltier
The lawmakers highlight the Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented record of addressing the country’s history of injustices against Indigenous communities and urge President Biden to cement this legacy by commuting Mr. Peltier’s sentence.
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Chairman Brian Schatz (D-HI) spearheaded a letter urging President Biden to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier, the renowned Native American rights activist. The letter was dated Thursday, December 12, 2024, the same day the president commuted sentences of 1,500 individuals and pardoned 39, a record by a president in a single day. The letter, signed by 34 Members of Congress, was sent during the final weeks of Biden's term, calling for a pardon for Peltier, who has been incarcerated since 1977 following a controversial trial and conviction for the murder of two FBI agents during a standoff on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. By Native News Online Staff December 13, 2024 https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/34-members-of-congress-urge-president-biden-to-pardon-leonard-peltier