Leonard Peltier

Leonard Peltier (born September 12, 1944) is a Native American activist. Peltier was convicted for the execution-style murder of two FBI special agents in 1977.

Pursuit of freedom

Near the end of President Bill Clinton's presidency in 2000, rumors began circulating that Clinton was considering granting Peltier clemency. This led to a large campaign against possible clemency orchestrated primarily by FBI agents, culminating in a protest outside the White House by about five hundred agents and their families, and a letter opposing clemency from then FBI director Louis Freeh. In the end, Clinton did not grant Peltier clemency, which some speculate was at least partially due to the pressure from these protests.

Related Topics:
Bill Clinton - 2000 - White House - Louis Freeh

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 2002, Peltier filed a civil rights lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the FBI, Louis Freeh, and a long list of FBI agents who had participated in the campaign against his clemency petition, alleging that they "engaged in a systematic and officially sanctioned campaign of misinformation and disinformation." On March 22, 2004, the suit was dismissed. http://www.noparolepeltier.com/Order-3-22-04.pdf

Related Topics:
2002 - U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia - March 22 - 2004

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Peltier is considered a political prisoner by some people and groups including Nelson Mandela, Rigoberta Menchu, Amnesty International, Rage Against The Machine, Anti-Flag, the U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights, Tenzin Gyatso (the 14th Dalai Lama), the European Parliament, the Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, Rev. Jesse Jackson and The Goats. To many indigenous peoples, Leonard Peltier is a symbol of the long history of abuse and repression they have endured.

Related Topics:
Political prisoner - Nelson Mandela - Rigoberta Menchu - Amnesty International - Rage Against The Machine - Anti-Flag - U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights - Tenzin Gyatso - Dalai Lama - European Parliament - Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights - Jesse Jackson - The Goats - Indigenous peoples

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The case for Peltier's pardon has been two-fold. One argument asserts his innocence, and that he variously had no knowledge of the murders (as he told CNN in 1999), that he has knowledge which he will never reveal, or (as told in In the Spirit of Crazy Horse) that he approached and searched the agents but did not execute them. Another argument holds that the killings (no matter who committed them) occurred during a war-like atmosphere on the reservation in which FBI agents were terrorizing residents in the wake of the Pine Ridge standoff in 1972.

Related Topics:
CNN - 1999

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~