Leonard Peltier

An Open Letter To President Joe Biden: Free Leonard Peltier

December 4, 2024 Stephen Millies, Struggle La Lucha. Resist! History, Indigenous Rights, Joe Biden, Leonard Peltier, political prisoners, Presidential Pardon

Mr. President, If you can pardon your son, why can’t you free the Indigenous political prisoner Leonard Peltier? The 80-year-old man, a leader of the American Indian Movement, has been imprisoned for 48 years. He suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure, and a heart condition. The FBI framed Leonard Peltier in retaliation for the historic 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee. Three years of violence followed this courageous stand for Indigenous rights, with over 60 AIM members and supporters murdered. Despite a large FBI presence, nothing was done to stop these murders and even more numerous assaults.

NDN Collective Rallies At The White House: Clemency For Leonard Peltier

September 23, 2024 Native News Online. Resist! Clemency, Joe Biden, Leonard Peltier, political prisoners

On Wednesday, NDN Collective rallied in front of the White House and called for executive clemency for Leonard Peltier. At 80 years old, Peltier has been incarcerated for nearly 50 years and is now in very poor health. Time is of the essence to release Leonard Peltier, the longest held Indigenous political prisoner in U.S. history. NDN Collective is spending the week in Washington to meet with elected officials, calling upon representatives and federal officials to take action on a number of issues including supporting the release of Leonard Peltier. On April 19, 2024, Peltier’s request for a compassionate release was denied by the Bureau of Prisons.

The Fight To Free Leonard Peltier Continues

July 4, 2024 Demetrius Johnson, NDN Collective. Resist! Indigenous Rights, Leonard Peltier, Parole, Political Prisoner

On June 10th Leonard Peltier appeared before the US Parole Commission to state his case for freedom for the 4th time– his three previous parole attempts in 1993, 1996, and 2009 were all denied. On July 2nd, the US Parole Commission denied Leonard Peltier parole for the 4th time. At 79 years old and battling multiple serious health conditions without proper medical treatment, Leonard Peltier most likely won’t make it another 15 years for his next parole hearing scheduled for June 2039. But that does not mean the fight for justice is over. In a phone call from Leonard Peltier to Nick Tilsen, President and CEO of NDN Collective, after the US Parole Commission’s decision, Leonard stated, “I am not intending to give up. And I’m hoping none of you give up.”

Leonard Peltier Denied Parole

July 3, 2024 People's Dispatch. Educate! Indigenous Rights, Leonard Peltier, Parole, political prisoners

The federal Parole Commission has denied Leonard Peltier’s request for parole, Peltier’s legal team announced on Tuesday, July 2. This marks a major setback for the longest-held political prisoner in the United States, who had his first parole hearing in over a decade on June 10. Peltier, who was active in the American Indian Movement (AIM) and a beacon for both the Indigenous struggle in the United States and the struggle to free political prisoners, now will continue to languish in prison for an undetermined amount of time. According to Peltier’s lawyer, Kevin Sharp, an interim hearing has been scheduled for 2026, while a full hearing has been scheduled for June 2039, when Peltier will be 94.

The People’s Struggle Will Free Leonard Peltier

June 22, 2024 People's Dispatch. Resist! American Indian Movement, FBI, Indigenous movement, Leonard Peltier, political prisoners, State Repression

Earlier this month, Leonard Peltier, world-renowned Indigenous freedom fighter and the longest-held political prisoner in the United States, had his first parole hearing in over a decade. The movement to free Peltier now awaits the decision resulting from that hearing, on whether or not Peltier will receive parole and be able to go home after almost half a century behind bars. For more perspective on Peltier’s case, Peoples Dispatch spoke to Gloria La Riva, who for decades has been a part of Peltier’s struggle. In 2020, La Riva ran for President of the United States with Peltier as Vice President, under the ticket of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

Parole Commission: It’s Long Past The Time To Free Leonard Peltier

June 12, 2024 Levi Rickert, Native News Online. Resist! Indigenous Rights, Leonard Peltier, Parole, political prisoners

For the first time in 15 years, Leonard Peltier will be afforded a full parole hearing on Monday, June 10 at the United States Penitentiary at Coleman, Fla. Peltier (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe) has been incarcerated for 48 years for the killing of two FBI agents at Oglala on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in June 1975. For five decades, Peltier has maintained his innocence and hoped for the chance to clear his name. Monday’s hearing may well be his last chance at vindication. The incident that led to Peltier’s imprisonment happened some 49 years ago, when two FBI agents — Jack Coler and Ronald Williams — arrived at a residence on the reservation to pursue a suspect who had taken a pair of shoes in a robbery.

Demand Medical Care For Political Prisoner, Leonard Peltier

March 13, 2024 Workers' World. Resist! Congress, Health Care, Leonard Peltier, political prisoners

Leonard Peltier is still in need of urgent medical care. Your efforts, along with the strong advocacy of Leonard’s legal team and the Ad Hoc Committee, got the attention of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). However, BOP personnel informed Leonard that he will need to wait at least 8-10 months to see an eye specialist. This is unacceptable. The BOP has deprived Leonard of necessary medical care for decades and in doing so has sentenced Leonard to Death By Incarceration. Locked down for 22 hours a day in high security prison USP Coleman I, Leonard, who is almost 80 years old, suffers from multiple severe health conditions.

Inside The High-Security ‘Black Site’ Where Leonard Peltier Is Incarcerated

September 30, 2023 Silja J.A. Talvi, Scheer Post. Educate! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Human Rights, Leonard Peltier, political prisoners

Unbeknownst to most protesters who gathered at the White House on the occasion of Native American political prisoner Leonard Peltier’s 79th birthday, Peltier wasn’t able to celebrate, much less receive reports on how the well-attended event was progressing. That’s because Peltier, who is now spending his 48th year in captivity, was sitting on his bunk, across from his cellie, “locked down” in a cramped and concrete maximum-security cell designed for one man. The Bureau of Prison’s “lockdown” phenomenon has spread to other federal facilities, but nowhere is as pronounced and as repressive as at USP Coleman I, part of the nation’s biggest federal prison complex, FCC Coleman, which consists of four prisons of various security levels.

Leonard Peltier Turns 79; Here’s How You Can Help

September 12, 2023 Last Real Indians. Resist! Clemency, Indigenous Activism, Leonard Peltier, Political Prisoner, Prisoner rights

Tuesday, September 12th is Leonard Peltier’s 79th birthday. Peltier is the longest serving Indigenous political prisoner in the history of the United States, having served nearly 50 years in federal prison. Please join us in demanding clemency for Leonard Peltier. “The Leonard Peltier Ad Hoc Committee is thrilled to announce the release of this new video about the life of Leonard Peltier, created by a group of his friends and supporters. This video is being released free of charge to all of Mr. Peltier's supporters.” In addition, a separate collaboration between Amnesty International and NDN Collective organized a 4-stop caravan pick-up for Leonard Peltier supporters in Rapid City, Minneapolis, Chicago and Pittsburgh.

Take Action To Demand Justice For Our Political Prisoners

February 13, 2023 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. Podcast - Clearing The FOG FBI, Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu-Jamal, political prisoners

This week, Clearing the FOG speaks with two advocates for the freedom of political prisoners Mumia Abu-Jamal and Leonard Peltier. Mumia Abu-Jamal is waiting to hear if Judge Lucretia Clemons will grant a new hearing on his case that includes new evidence of corruption in the legal process that led to his false conviction. On February 16, port workers will strike on the West Coast in support of an international day of action in for Mumia. Noelle Hanrahan of Prison Radio talks about his case and the carceral state. Leonard Peltier has now served almost 50 years in prison on a murder charge involving FBI agents. Coleen Rowley, a whistleblower formerly with the FBI, recently wrote to President Biden asking for clemency for Peltier. Rowley discusses the COINTEL Program, which is very much alive, and the culture inside the FBI. Both call on the public to take action to free Abu-Jamal and Peltier.

Day Of Solidarity With Leonard Peltier Set For Monday, February 6

February 5, 2023 Native News Online. Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Indigenous Rights, Leonard Peltier, Solidarity

On February 6, 1976, Leonard Peltier was arrested in Hinton, Alberta, Canada. Monday, February 6th will mark the 47th anniversary of his arrest. Following a controversial trial, Peltier was convicted of aiding and abetting murder of two FBi agents and has been imprisoned ever since. Many people and human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, National Congress of American Indians, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and others believe Peltier is a political prisoner who should be immediately released. To mark the anniversary, people worldwide will commemorate Monday as a Day of Solidarity for Leonard Peltier, who is currently incarcerated in a federal penitentiary in Coleman, Florida.

Ex-FBI Agent Coleen Rowley Breaks Silence On Leonard Peltier, COINTELPRO

January 19, 2023 Nick Estes, Mintpress News. Resistance Report COINTELPRO, Criminal Justice and Prisons, FBI, Indigenous Rights, Leonard Peltier

The first FBI agent close to the Leonard Peltier case is calling for his freedom. Coleen Rowley recounts, in this wide-ranging and exclusive interview, her time as an agent in the Minneapolis field office. For nearly 50 years, the FBI has indoctrinated its agents on a specific version of events that led to Leonard Peltier’s arrest, conviction, and imprisonment. The mentality then, Rowley argues, is little different than the mentality today. That’s why she decided to break the silence and is calling on President Joe Biden to grant Leonard Peltier executive clemency. Rowley gives us an insider’s view of the FBI and how the dark and violent history of COINTELPRO, which targeted civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and social movements like the Black Panthers and AIM, didn’t end in 1971. It morphed and evolved over the years and continued well into the U.S. war on terror.

FBI’s Opposition To Releasing Leonard Peltier Driven By Vendetta

January 18, 2023 Nina Lakhani, The Guardian. Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, FBI, Indigenous Rights, Leonard Peltier, Political Prisoner

The FBI’s repeated opposition to the release of Leonard Peltier is driven by vindictiveness and misplaced loyalties, according to a former senior agent close to the case who is the first agency insider to call for clemency for the Indigenous rights activist who has been held in US maximum security prisons for almost five decades. Coleen Rowley, a retired FBI special agent whose career included 14 years as legal counsel in the Minneapolis division where she worked with prosecutors and agents directly involved in the Peltier case, has written to Joe Biden making a case for Peltier’s release. “Retribution seems to have emerged as the primary if not sole reason for continuing what looks from the outside to have become an emotion-driven ‘FBI Family’ vendetta,” said Rowley in the letter sent to the US president in December and shared exclusively with the Guardian.

After 1,100 Miles, Leonard Peltier’s Walk To Justice Arrives In Washington

November 15, 2022 Darren Thompson, Native News Online. Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Leonard Peltier, Protests, Washington D.C.

Washington D.C. - Yesterday, supporters asking for the release of American Indian Movement activist Leonard Peltier arrived in Washington and hosted a march and rally at the Lincoln Memorial. The American Indian Movement’s Grand Governing Council (AIMGGC) began the 1,100-mile Leonard Peltier’s Walk to Justice on Sept. 1. The group completed their final mile on Sunday from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial with nearly 2,000 supporters. “We just walked for 1,103 miles for our elder Leonard Peltier,” walk organizer Rachel Thunder said at Sunday’s rally. “We just marched 1,103 miles for our people, for justice for our people. When Leonard is free, we are all free.” Peltier was convicted in 1977 for aiding and abetting the murder of two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in June 1975.

Leonard Peltier’s 46 Years In Prison: ‘What Else Do You Want?’

October 23, 2022 Resumen English. Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Leonard Peltier, Political Prisoner

Leonard Peltier’s name has become a story that reflects other stories. One narrative describes Peltier as America’s longest political prisoner, serving more than 46 years in a federal maximum security prison. In that telling, Peltier has become a humanitarian and a 78-year-old Turtle Mountain elder who has been incarcerated for far too long. There is a long list of people, tribes and organizations that have called for Peltier’s freedom. The former prosecutor in the case. Members of Congress. Amnesty International USA. Pope John Francis. The Dalai Lama. The National Congress of American Indians. Dozens of tribal nations, including Peltier’s own tribe, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. And, as of this month, the Democratic National Committee.

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