#DebHaaland Reflects On Her Legacy — And Whether It Can Survive 4 Years Of Trump

by Jennifer Bendery, January 18, 2025

[...] "Days before #Biden leaves office, #Haaland is still holding out for him to do one last thing as president: grant clemency to long-imprisoned #NativeAmerican rights activist #LeonardPeltier. Before becoming interior secretary, Haaland was a member of Congress and a strong public advocate for Peltier’s freedom, but she’s been quieter on this front in her Cabinet role.

"'I hope he can go home,' she said."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/deb-haaland-reflects-on-her-legacy-and-whether-it-can-survive-4-years-of-trump/ar-AA1xrirl
#FreeLeonardPeltier #ClemencyForLeonardPeltier #AmnestyForLeonardPeltier #USPol

Miami State Rep asks #Biden for clemency to handful of people, including survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking

By: Mitch Perry, January 18, 2025

"With just two days left in his presidency, Miami-Dade Democratic Rep. #DotieJoseph is calling on Joe Biden to extend clemency and pardons to a handful of individuals and groups who she says represent critical cases of injustice and unfairness.

"She’s calling for clemency for #LeonardPeltier, the #NativeAmericanActivist who was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of two FBI agents in a 1975 shooting on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Peltier has been imprisoned for more than 48 years, with dozens of members of Congress urging his release. Peltier, 79, has maintained his innocence throughout his time in prison.

"She wants a presidential pardon for #MarilynMosby, state attorney for Baltimore from 2015 to 2013. Last May she was sentenced to 12 months of home confinement as part of a 36 month sentence of supervised release for making a false mortgage application and two counts of perjury.

"Joseph described Mosby in her letter as 'the courageous State Attorney whose politically motivated prosecution was pay-back for her efforts to hold accountable those responsible for the inexcusable death of #FreddyGray, who was killed while handcuffed in custody.'

"Joseph seeks a pardon for #StevenDonziger, an environmental and human rights attorney. Donziger won a $9.5 billion judgement against Chevron in an environmental lawsuit in Ecuador. He was sentenced to six months in jail in 2023 for failing to comply with a judge’s order to surrender all of his electronic devices, according to CNBC.

"Rep. Joseph is calling for a pardon for #survivors of #DomesticViolence and #HumanTrafficking who are 'incarcerated for desperate acts of #SelfDefense against their abusers, and doing so would redress the system’s failure to protect them and end their cycle of continued victimization.'

"Biden’s tenure in office ends at 11:59 am, Monday, Jan.20.

"Biden commuted the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses on Friday morning."

https://www.islandernews.com/news/miami/miami-state-rep-asks-biden-for-clemency-to-handful-of-people-including-survivors-of-domestic/article_96808a2a-d5a4-11ef-a73f-f784dd7195a7.html
#FreeLeonardPeltier #FreeStevenDonziger #AmnestyForLeonardPeltier #ClemencyForLeonardPeltier

33 Members of Congress Urge Biden to Release #LeonardPeltier from Prison

By Steve Neavling, written in 2024

"More than 30 members of Congress are calling on President Biden to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier, a Lakota tribe member who was convicted of murdering two FBI agents in 1975.

'"As Members of Congress, we sign this letter with a deep commitment to the crucial role we play in upholding justice for all Americans — and to also hold our government accountable when we see a case of injustice, as demonstrated by the long incarceration of Leonard Peltier,' reads the letter to Biden, which was led by Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., Huffington Post reports.

"'We applaud your commitment to criminal justice reform and your administration’s work to address inequities in the criminal justice system and rectify the past wrongs of our government’s treatment of Native Americans,' they wrote. 'We urge you to take the next step by granting Mr. Peltier executive clemency or compassionate release.'

"Three senators and 30 House members signed the letter. All are Democrats, except for Republican Rep. Tim Burchett, of Tennessee.

"Peltier, a 79-year-old Indigenous rights activist, has been in prison since 1977.

"An all-white jury convicted Peltier of murdering the two agents on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.

"In 2021, tribal members sent a petition to Biden, asking for compassionate release or clemency.

"In January 2017, then-President Obama turned down a similar request for clemency."

Source:
https://ticklethewire.com/33-members-of-congress-urge-biden-to-release-leonard-peltier-from-prison/
#FreeLeonardPeltier #CompassionateRelease #AmnestyForLeonardPeltier #ClemencyForLeonardPeltier

President #Biden: Let boarding school survivor #LeonardPeltier finally return home

Leonard Peltier is the longest-incarcerated Native political prisoner in American history, and one of the oldest people currently in federal prison

by Nick Tilsen, January 18, 2025

"The people of the #PineRidgeReservation see #Peltier as our respected elder, and we have purchased and prepared a house for him on his homelands in #TurtleMountain. We are ready to welcome him home with open arms, to show him the care and support he deserved for his whole life. He deserves to live out his last days with dignity and surrounded by loved ones.

"#PresidentBiden, we implore you one last time: please have mercy. Please let Leonard Peltier come home and heal from the systems that stole his innocence as a young boy and lasted a lifetime."

https://ictnews.org/opinion/president-biden-let-boarding-school-survivor-leonard-peltier-finally-return-home
#FreeLeonardPeltier #AmnestyForLeonardPeltier #ClemencyForLeonardPeltier #BringLeonardHome #AIM #AmericanIndianMovement #NativeAmericanActivist #FBI #ACAB

#Biden sets record by commuting sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted on nonviolent drug charges

January 17, 2025

"The White House did not release the names of those receiving commutations. Still, Biden said more could yet be coming, promising to use the time before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated Monday to 'continue to review additional commutations and pardons.'"

https://apnews.com/article/biden-commutes-2500-nonviolent-drug-offenders-83174cd0602a0bf5d491aa60184f3568
#ClemencyForLeonardPeltier #FreeLeonardPeltier #AmnestyForLeonardPeltier

Will #Biden Grant #LeonardPeltier Clemency? #Indigenous Leaders Plead, “Don’t Let Him Die in Prison”

#DemocracyNow, January 17, 2025

"After commuting the sentences of over 2,500 people imprisoned for nonviolent drug offenses, Joe Biden has set a record for most pardons and commutations by a U.S. president. But Indigenous political prisoner Leonard Peltier remains behind bars. Over 120 tribal leaders are calling on Biden to grant clemency to Peltier as one of his final acts in office, warning this may be the last opportunity Peltier has for freedom. Peltier is 80 years old and has spent the majority of his life — nearly half a century — in prison despite a conviction riddled with irregularities and prosecutorial misconduct. In December, tribal leaders, including the #NDNCollective’s Nick Tilsen, met with a pardon attorney at the Department of Justice to prepare a recommendation on Peltier’s case for Biden. With only a few days left in Biden’s term, #NativeAmericans are eagerly anticipating his decision. 'All of us see a little bit of ourselves in Leonard Peltier, and that’s why we fight so hard for him,' says Tilsen. 'This is about paving a path forward that gives us the opportunity to have justice and begin to heal the relationship between the United States government and Indian people. And so, this decision is massive.' "

Listen / watch / read transcript (available after 1pm EST): https://www.democracynow.org/2025/1/17/free_leonard_peltier_biden_clemency
#ClemencyForLeonardPeltier #AmnestyForLeonardPeltier #FreeLeonardPeltier #AmericanIndianMovement #AIM #NativeAmericanActivist #FBI #ACAB #TruthAndReconciliation

Minnesota tribal leaders call for #Biden to commute #LeonardPeltier's sentence

by Melissa Olson, January 14, 2025

"A group of over 120 elected current and former tribal leaders from across the United States are calling on President Joe Biden to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier, a longstanding political activist convicted in 1977 in the murder of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, according to a story first published Monday by HuffPost.

"Peltier is a member of the #AmericanIndianMovement, a grassroots Native American organization formed in Minneapolis in the late 1960s in response to police violence.

“'For the majority of his life, Leonard Peltier has been serving a sentence based on a conviction that would not hold up in court today and for a crime that the government has admitted it could not prove. Mr. Peltier’s continued incarceration is a symbol to Native Americans of the systemic inequities of the criminal justice system in America,' read the letter from tribal elected officials published on #NDNCollective.

"The letter was signed by over a dozen elected tribal officials in Minnesota, including president of the #LowerSioux Indian Community Robert Larsen, who verified the accuracy of the letter to MPR News, as well as Chair of #BoisForteBand of Chippewa Cathy Chavers and Chief Executive of the #MilleLacs Band of# Ojibwe Virgil Wind, who signed the letter as President of the Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes.

"Faron Jackson, chair of the #LeechLakeBand of Ojibwe, also signed the letter. Jackson spoke to MPR News while attending the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe annual state of the band address Tuesday.

"'I think it was an injustice from day one,” said Jackson. “He’s been sitting in prison for almost 50 years on a lot of circumstantial evidence that just didn’t add up to justice.'

"Peltier, a citizen of the #TurtleMountainBand of #Chippewa in North Dakota, is currently serving two life sentences at a federal prison in Florida. Peltier has maintained his innocence since he was first imprisoned."

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/01/14/minnesota-tribal-leaders-call-for-biden-to-commute-leonard-peltier-sentence
#FreeLeonardPeltier #AmnestyForLeonardPeltier #ClemencyForLeonardPeltier #AIM

This is probably why #JoeBiden WILL NOT pardon #LeonardPeltier. Instead he awards #HillaryClinton !!!👿

Hillary Clinton Awarded #MedalOfFreedom. Clinton Targeted #Mohawks and #Mapuche, Presidents #EvoMorales and #HugoChavez, with U.S. #Espionage.

By #BrendaNorrell, #CensoredNews, January 6, 2025

WASHINGTON -- "President #Biden awarded Hillary Clinton with the Medal of Freedom on Saturday.

"Clinton, while serving as Secretary of State during the Obama administration, targeted Mohawks, Mapuche, and world leaders with U.S. espionage.

"The U.S. Embassies in Montreal and Toronto targeted Mohawks with surveillance at the border and in their communities in Canada. The U.S. used illegal wiretaps to track Mohawks and documented the actions of #AkwesasneMohawks at the border of New York and Canada.

"The U.S. surveillance is revealed in the U.S. State Department cables, exposed by #Wikileaks, during the time Clinton served as Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013. Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez was under heavy surveillance, as revealed in the cables.

"It was during this time of Clinton's espionage that delegations of the #AmericanIndianMovement, Mohawks, and #Indigenous #HumanRightsActivists were in #Venezuela in 2011. The solidarity and support resulted in free heating oil from Venezuela for #NativeAmericans in need.

"In this deadly web of the United States government's secrecy, the United States was part of a coalition to promote mining and fight against #IndigenousRights in Peru. A core group of diplomats -- from U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, Switzerland and South Africa -- formed an alliance with mining companies to promote and protect mining interests globally, the cables reveal.

"The U.S. led the coalition and fought the rights of #IndigenousPeoples near the border of #Peru and #Ecuador. Indigenous Peoples were being killed defending their land from #CopperMining in bloody battles with #MiningCompanies and the military.

"The U.S. State Department cables reveal that Clinton told U.S. Ambassadors to collect DNA and iris scans on leaders in #Africa and #Paraguay.

"Biden, however, claimed during the award ceremony at the White House on Saturday that Clinton carried out a 'sacred effort.'"

Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/01/hillary-clinton-awarded-medal-of.html
#USPol #FreeLeonardPeltier #ClemencyForLeonardPeltier #AmnestyForLeonardPeltier #HumanRights #Colonialism #Genocide #NoMiningWithoutConsent #MiningInterests #CorporateColonialism

#Taos #ReggaeBand #IrieBellion Releases Powerful Single Advocating #ClemencyForLeonardPeltier

By Native News Online Staff
January 07, 2025

"Six-piece reggae band IrieBellion, based in #TaosNewMexico, has released a new single to advocate for the release of #LeonardPeltier, a #NativeAmericanActivist who has been imprisoned for nearly 50 years.

"'Leonard Peltier’s Song' features Grammy-winning flutist #RobertMirabal of Taos Pueblo and a traditional drum group composed of singers from several Indigenous nations. Through this collaboration, the band hopes to amplify calls for President Joe Biden to grant clemency to Peltier.

"The song blends IrieBellion’s reggae-inspired rhythms with Robert Mirabal’s signature flute playing and the traditional Indigenous drumming and singing of #JohnSwiftbird (#Lakota), #ChaskePacheco (#Dakota / #SantaDomingoPueblo), and #BrysonSanchez (Dakota / #SanFelipePueblo).

"The song makes a direct #PleaForJustice, with Davis crafting a chorus —'Do the right thing, let freedom ring/ ​It's been so long, let's right this wrong' — that appeals to #PresidentBiden to take action and right what the band views as a longstanding wrong.

"The musical advocacy for Peltier's case has a rich history in popular music. #RobbieRobertson (Mohawk), the legendary guitarist and songwriter of The Band, created a particularly powerful statement with his song 'Sacrifice', which incorporated Peltier's own voice through a recorded prison phone call with Robertson. Little Steven (#StevenVanZandt), known for both his work with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and his solo career, also contributed to this musical legacy with his own 'Leonard Peltier,' which, like IrieBellion's new release, used Caribbean rhythms to carry its message of justice.

"Peltier, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of #Chippewa Indians, became involved in the American Indian Movement (#AIM) in the 1970s, a time of tension between Indigneous communities and the U.S. government.

AIM advocated addressing issues such as police brutality, treaty violations, and systemic inequality affecting Native Americans.

"Peltier’s case comes from a 1975 shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, where two FBI agents and a young Native man were killed. The shootout occurred during a period of violence on the reservation, often referred to as the '#ReignOfTerror,' when residents faced threats and attacks for their ties to AIM.

"Peltier was convicted in 1977 of killing the agents, but his trial has been widely criticized. Key evidence was withheld by the prosecution, including ballistics reports that could have supported his defense.

"Eyewitness testimony used to extradite Peltier from Canada was later recanted, with the witness stating they were coerced by the FBI. Even the U.S. attorney who handled the case has since admitted that no one knows who fired the fatal shots.

"Peltier has maintained his innocence for nearly five decades, and his case has been condemned by numerous human rights organizations, including #AmnestyInternational. Calls for his release have grown in recent years, with Peltier now in his late seventies and facing health challenges.

"'Leonard Peltier’s Song' is available on streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music, and can also be found on IrieBellion’s HearNow page. The band encourages listeners to not only enjoy the song but also take action by learning about Peltier’s case, signing petitions, and contacting officials to advocate for his release.

"For those who want to learn more, organizations such as the International #LeonardPeltierDefenseCommittee provide resources and updates on efforts to secure his freedom."

https://nativenewsonline.net/arts-entertainment/taos-reggae-band-iriebellion-releases-powerful-single-advocating-clemency-for-leonard-peltier
#ACAB #FBI #AmericanindianMovement #PineRidge #FreeLeonardPeltier #AmnestyForLeonardPeltier #ClemencyForLeonardPeltier

#JoeBiden is #LeonardPeltier’s last hope

The imprisoned #NativeAmerican is long overdue for clemency. Joe #Biden is probably the last president who can give it to him

Rose Styron and Alex Matthiessen
January 7, 2025

"As Joe Biden prepares to leave office, he has a chance to do something singularly honorable in the name of American justice and basic human rights. With a grant of clemency to Leonard Peltier, Biden could ameliorate a half-century-old injustice not just against Peltier but, in effect, against Native peoples everywhere, many of whom consider Peltier an enduring symbol of racism and state-sponsored oppression in the US.

"For those Americans who may not have heard of him, Leonard Peltier is known around the world as the US government’s number one political prisoner. A member of the Chippewa and Lakota Nations, Peltier was convicted in 1976 for the deaths, the year before, of two FBI agents killed during a shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. While he was in the area at the time of the shootout, Peltier, who maintains his innocence, has served nearly 50 years and counting for a murder he was never proved to have committed – or even to have aided and abetted.

"It is widely understood that the federal government railroaded Peltier into prison by withholding and falsifying evidence, coercing witnesses and forcing a change of jurisdiction, among other acts of prosecutorial misconduct and malice. The US attorney James Reynolds, whose office handled the prosecution and appeal of the case, issued a public apology in 2021, acknowledging that the federal government failed to “prove that Mr Peltier personally committed any offense on the Pine Ridge Reservation”. Reynolds has since called on Biden to release Peltier.

"Reynolds’s statement alone should have been grounds for granting Peltier parole and ultimately clemency. Yet, despite multiple pleas over many decades, Peltier – who just turned 80 and is suffering from multiple health crises including diabetes, kidney disease, heart issues and near blindness – continues to languish in a high-security prison in Florida called Coleman 1."

Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/07/joe-biden-leonard-peltiers-clemency
#FBI #ACAB #FreeLeonardPeltier #AmnestyForLeonardPeltier #ClemencyForLeonardPeltier #NativeAmericanActivist #AIM #AmericanindianMovement