Native American activist Leonard Peltier left Florida prison nearly 50 years later, following a commute from former US President Joe Biden.
On Tuesday morning, Peltier was removed from federal jail in Coleman, Florida, and was taken away by an SUV. He didn’t talk when he left prison.
The 80-year-old Peltier became a global symbol of Indigenous rights after his conviction for murder in 1977. Groups like Amnesty International and supporters like actor Robert Redford are seeking his freedom.
A member of Chippeweindian’s Turtle Mountain Band, Peltier has long maintained his innocence.
“Today is finally free! They may have imprisoned me, but they will not take away my spirit!” Peltier said in a statement released by activist group NDN Collective. . “I look forward to seeing friends, family and the community. Today is a great day.”
He returns to Turtle Mountain Reservation in Bellcourt, North Dakota, where a homecoming celebration is planned on Wednesday.
“We’re very excited at this moment,” Jennifer Jones, one of Peltier’s lawyers, told The Associated Press. “He’s fine. He has a warrior spirit.”
Peltier was convicted in 1975 of killing two agents by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
FBI agents Jack Coller and Ronald Williams were on reservation to serve as a warrant.
However, upon arriving at Jumpbull Ranch, they took part in a shootout with members of the American Indian Movement (AIM), including Peltier. There were as many as 30 people in the shootout.
Several AIM members were arrested in the aftermath and charged with the murder of an agent. Two, Robert Robideau and Darrell Butler were tested, but were eventually acquitted for self-defense.
Peltier fled to Canada, but was eventually handed over for trial in the US.
Peltier admits he fired a gun in self-defense, but he repeatedly denied shooting and killing the agents. Prosecutors allege that the agent was shot dead in the head. Peltier says he is not near them at the time of their death.
Supporters also argue that the 1977 trial against Peltier was deeply flawed, citing oppressed evidence.
Additionally, a woman who testified that she saw Peltier fired said that the agent was later forced to do so, revoking her testimony.
During the period of the shooting, the FBI, along with other civil rights groups across the country, was making harassment and surveillance efforts to harass Native American activist organizations.
For Peltier’s supporters, his almost half-century imprisonment is a symbol of the double standards of the judicial system.
Members of his family also seek compassionate release for reasons of health. Peltier is currently partially blind and suffers from health issues such as diabetes and heart problems.
“I know he won’t reach his next parole in his life, Pamela Bravo, one of Peltier’s relatives, told Al Jazeera last year.
However, the prospect of releasing Peltier has long been split, with the FBI and law enforcement opposed his freedom.
Prior to last year’s parole hearing, then-FBI director Christopher Ray called his potential release “a humiliation at the rule of law.”
“Pelletier never accepted responsibility or showed any regrets,” Ray wrote. “He’s completely inappropriate for parole.”
Ray repeated these feelings in a personal letter to President Biden, calling Peltier a “meditative murderer.”
However, other members of the Biden administration, including Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, sought Peltier’s freedom.
There was also international pressure. Figures such as the Dalai Lama and Pope Francis joined his call for release.
Finally, in the final hours of his presidency on January 20th, Biden ruled Peltier.
However, there is no amnesty for commutes, and Peltier lives on house arrest.
“I didn’t expect him to come out,” said Ray St. Clair, a member of the Minnesota Chipewa White Earth Band, shortly before Peltier’s release. “It shows you should never give up hope. This can repair the damage that was done. This is where it begins.”
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