International
Native American Activist Leonard Peltier Freed After 50 Years in Prison
- Leonard Peltier freed after nearly 50 years following Biden’s commutation.
- Activist maintains innocence in 1975 FBI agent killings, citing unfair trial.
- Peltier returns home to Turtle Mountain Reservation for celebration.
Native American activist Leonard Peltier walked free from a Florida prison on Tuesday after spending nearly five decades behind bars, following a commutation from former U.S. President Joe Biden.
The 80-year-old, who had become a global symbol for Indigenous rights, exited the federal detention centre in Coleman, Florida, and was taken away in an SUV without speaking to reporters. His release marks the end of a decades-long campaign by supporters—including Amnesty International and actor Robert Redford—who argued that his conviction was unjust.
EDITOR’S PICKS
- 45% of Nigerian Girls Become Mothers Before 18 — World Bank
- ECOWAS Faces Historic Defection as Three West African Nations Withdraw
- Netanyahu to Meet Trump at White House Next Week
A member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Peltier has long maintained his innocence in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. His trial, critics say, was riddled with misconduct, including suppressed evidence and coerced testimony.
“Today I am finally free! They may have imprisoned me, but they never took my spirit!” Peltier said in a statement released by the NDN Collective, an activist group. “I look forward to seeing my friends, my family, and my community. It’s a good day today.”
He will return home to the Turtle Mountain Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota, where a homecoming celebration is planned for Wednesday.
Peltier was convicted in 1977 for the deaths of FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams, who were at the reservation to serve an arrest warrant. A violent shootout erupted at the Jumping Bull Ranch, involving members of the American Indian Movement (AIM), of which Peltier was a member.
FURTHER READING
- [VIDEO] Commotion Rocks PDP BoT Meeting as Faction Confront Each Other
- NiDCOM Prepares for Deportation of Nigerians from U.S
- BREAKING: Sowore Pleads Not Guilty to Cybercrime Charges Filed by Police IG
Two other AIM members, Robert Robideau and Darrelle Butler, were acquitted on self-defence grounds, but Peltier, who had fled to Canada and was later extradited, was convicted. While he admitted to firing his weapon in self-defence, he has always denied shooting the agents.
Prosecutors claimed Coler and Williams were executed at point-blank range, but Peltier maintained he was not near them at the time of their deaths. His supporters have pointed to evidence suppression and later-recanted testimony as proof that he did not receive a fair trial.
Click here to watch our video of the week:
Advertise or Publish a Story on EkoHot Blog:
Kindly contact us at ekohotblog@gmail.com. Breaking stories should be sent to the above email and substantiated with pictorial evidence.
Citizen journalists will receive a token as data incentive.
Call or Whatsapp: 0803 561 7233, 0703 414 5611
