Trump commutes gang leader's sentence in flurry of pardons

As part of a spree of clemency actions, 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 several 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 and Hoover and Grimm, eight others have been pardoned by the president in recent days.

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.

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

At a hearing last year, a judge asked one of Hoover's lawyers: "How many other murders is he responsible for?"

After news broke of the commutation of his federal sentence, Hoover's lawyer Justin Moore posted online: "We got Larry Hoover out of federal prison - when many said it was impossible… Illinois must send him home for good."

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

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."