Leonard Peltier is an 80-year-old activist who has spent almost 50 years behind bars for his involvement in a 1975 attack that resulted in the deaths of two FBI agents on a South Dakota reservation. Despite being labeled a “remorseless killer,” Peltier is now set to return home.
Following his release, Peltier is anticipated to make his first appearance at a celebratory event held at a reservation casino, organized by the NDN Collective, an indigenous rights organization. This event will serve as a gathering for his supporters to commemorate his freedom after what they believe was an unjust imprisonment.
As one of his final acts as President, Joe Biden decided to grant clemency to Peltier, a decision that sparked strong opposition from former FBI Director Christopher Wray and the FBI Agents Association.
“I hope these letters are unnecessary, and that you are not considering a pardon or commutation,” Wray wrote to Biden just 10 days before the former president granted clemency. “But on behalf of the FBI family, and out of an abundance of caution, I want to make sure our position is clear: Peltier is a remorseless killer, who brutally murdered two of our own – Special Agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams. Granting Peltier any relief from his conviction or sentence is wholly unjustified and would be an affront to the rule of law.”
Peltier’s appeals have repeatedly failed, and according to the FBI, he admitted to firing at the agents on multiple occasions. The bureau says he told Canadian police, who arrested him after he fled across the border, that he sho at FBI agents whom he thought had come to arrest him for his outstanding warrant. He admitted to shooting at them again in a 1991 interview with “60 Minutes.”
Nevertheless, Peltier’s supporters have argued that his initial 1977 conviction was based on shoddy evidence and “prosecutorial misconduct.” He failed to have it overturned after more than a dozen appeals, including two that reached the Supreme Court.
American Indian Movement (AIM) activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted in 1976 of the murder of FBI agents Ronald Williams and Jack Coler, poses for a prison portrait in 1985 while holding up a painting. (MPI/Getty Images)
“For nearly 50 years, no fewer than 22 federal judges, multiple parole boards, and six presidential administrations have evaluated the evidence and considered Peltier’s arguments,” Wray wrote to Biden over the summer. “Each has reached the same conclusion: Peltier’s claims are meritless and his convictions and sentence must stand.”
Biden countered that Peltier’s support outweighed the courts and the concerns of Coler and Williams’ families and colleagues.
FBI mugshot of Leonard Peltier, who at the time was wanted for killing two FBI agents. He was added to the FBI’s list of “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.” (Bettmann)
“Tribal Nations, Nobel Peace laureates, former law enforcement officials (including the former U.S. Attorney whose office oversaw Mr. Peltier’s prosecution and appeal), dozens of lawmakers, and human rights organizations strongly support granting Mr. Peltier clemency, citing his advanced age, illnesses, his close ties to and leadership in the Native American community, and the substantial length of time he has already spent in prison,” Biden said in a statement on Jan. 20.
Peltier’s sentence has been commuted to home confinement.
“Leonard Peltier has never expressed remorse for his actions,” said Natalie Bara, the president of the FBI Agents Association. “Special Agents Coler and Williams were stolen from their families, robbed of the chance to share precious time and milestones with their loved ones. Leonard Peltier should not have been granted a mercy he so cruelly denied to the Coler and Williams families.”
