Trump commutes gang leader's sentence in flurry of pardons

As part of a spree of more than two dozen clemency actions this week, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday commuted the federal prison sentence of Larry Hoover, the founder of a notorious Chicago street gang.

Hoover was the leader of the Gangster Disciples and in the 1990s was given six life sentences on conspiracy, extortion, drug and other criminal charges.

In addition to his federal sentence, Hoover still faces a 200-year jail term in the state of Illinois for murder, and is unlikely to be released soon. A president is unable to commute state-level sentences.

On Wednesday the president also granted a pardon to other convicts including Michael Grimm, a former New York City congressman.

He served seven months in prison after pleading guilty to felony tax fraud.

As well as Hoover and Grimm, at least eight others have been pardoned by the president in recent days; the New York Times reported that Trump issued a total of 25 pardons or commutations of prison sentences on Wednesday.

Department of Justice (DoJ) records indicate that during his second term Trump has pardoned more than 40 people, in addition to almost 1,600 pardons doled out to people charged or convicted in connection with the 6 January 2021 US Capitol riot.

During his first presidential term, Trump granted a total of 237 pardons and commutations, according to the Pew Research Center. Most of those occurred in the final month of his term.

• What is a presidential pardon?

Hoover, 74, built the Gangster Disciples into a nationwide street gang from its origins on Chicago's South Side in the 1970s.

In 1973 he was convicted of ordering the execution of a rival drug dealer. Authorities allege that he continued to lead his gang from prison.

In the 1990s he formed a political organisation and claimed that he had transformed the Gangster Disciples into a community-service organisation called Growth and Development.

However, he was found guilty of a long list of federal charges in 1997.

In recent years he has advocated for criminal justice reform including the First Step Act, which Trump signed into law in 2018. Among other things, the law allows for reduced sentences for inmates who participate in programmes aimed at reducing reoffending.

Hoover has continued to publicly disavow gang life.

"I am no longer a member, leader, or even an elder statesman of the Gangster Disciples," Hoover wrote in a letter to a court in 2022. "I want nothing to do with it now and forever."

However, authorities have taken a different view, and prosecutors alleged in 2021 that he was still involved in promoting Gangster Disciples while locked up in prison. They have argued that he is still effectively the leader of the group.

On Thursday the top FBI official in Chicago indicated that Hoover will not be released from jail any time soon.

"The President of the United States has the authority to pardon whoever he wishes," FBI Special Agent in Charge Douglas DePodesta told the Chicago Tribune. "I think Larry Hoover caused a lot of damage in this city and he deserves to be in prison and he will continue to be imprisoned in the state system."

In a statement, Hoover's lawyers called upon Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to issue a commutation of his state-level sentence, arguing that "there is no purpose in returning a 74-year-old man in failing health to prison after 52 years of incarceration.

"Mr Hoover has now received a full and complete commutation for his federal drug convictions. The Governor of Illinois must follow suit," said attorneys Joshua Dubin and Justin Moore.

Grimm, the former congressman, pleaded guilty to underreporting income from a restaurant that he owned.

In addition, Trump issued pardons on Wednesday for:

• Former Connecticut Governor John Rowland, who was convicted on election fraud charges and sentenced to two and a half years in prison in 2015
• Kentrell Gaulden, a rapper known as NBA YoungBoy, who has faced numerous drugs, weapons and fraud charges
• Convicted fraudster Kevin Eric Baisden
• Mark Bashaw, an army officer who was convicted in a court martial of violating Covid protection rules
• Tanner Mansell and John Moore, who were convicted of theft at sea when they released sharks they thought were being illegally fished. It turned out the sharks were being legally caught for research purposes
• Michael Harris, the co-founder of Death Row Records, who spent decades in prison on drug charges. Harris had his sentence commuted by Trump during his first term, and was issued a full pardon on Wednesday

On Tuesday, Trump also pardoned Todd and Julie Chrisley, two reality TV stars who were convicted of tax evasion and defrauding banks.

Also on Wednesday, Trump said he would "take a look at" pardoning a group of men charged with planning to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020.

"I did watch the trial," he said. "It looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job… It looked to me like some people said some stupid things."