Free Leonard Peltier NOW!

from Earth First! Newswire

Leonard Peltier is an indigenous activist who has been imprisoned for 40 years for defending his community from armed members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation trespassing on native land. With Donald Trump becoming President of the US on January 20, there are only 64 days left for Obama to pardon Peltier and see that he is released from prison.

For those who aren’t familiar, Peltier was arrested because of a shootout on the Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota Native American reservation in South Dakota in 1975, during which two FBI agents were shot and killed. Though there was no evidence against him, and his two co-defendants were acquitted before his trial started, Peltier was convicted in 1977 by a racist court hand-picked by the FBI to get a guilty verdict. Other government misconduct during Peltier’s trial included coercion of witnesses, intentional use of false testimonies, hiding ballistics evidence, and manufacturing a murder weapon. Despite this, Peltier has been consistently denied requests for a new trial.

Also consistent have been Peltier’s denial of the charges and refusal to snitch or give in to government coercion. In a recent interview with the Daily News he said, “I’ve given the same answer for 40 years. I didn’t do it and I won’t say that I did. I won’t betray my people like that, I won’t betray my culture.”

People around the world have been calling for Leonard Peltier’s release for decades, and an official request for clemency was sent to the White House in March. Sitting in his cell in Coleman, Florida, Peltier is a living example of the colonialism and systemic racism ingrained into our judicial system, and his freedom is a step in the direction of decolonization. Whether you care about indigenous peoples’ rights, protection of the land, freedom for political prisoners, standing up to oppressors, or even the rule of law, then you should care about Leonard Peltier’s liberation.

With 64 days left before Trump is in office—a man who will surely only pardon white collar criminals and far-right racist radicals—it is vital that we all do everything we can to pressure Obama to pardon Leonard Peltier.

The Friends of Leonard Peltier site has info and suggestions to help you get through to Obama:

Call the White House (will you call once a week?)

Email the White House (will you email every day?)

Get Social with the White House (will you post often?)

The International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee has other helpful resources as well:

Call Legislators

Educate Others

Visit Members of Congress

Write Letters to Congress

Members of the American Indian Movement and other activists and caring people around the world are also showing up anywhere Obama visits with signs and banners urging him to pardon Leonard Peltier. Here is the White House web page that updates Obama’s daily schedule each morning so you can run into him yourself. If you have other resources for tracking down Obama, please email them to collective[at]earthfirstjournal[dot]org and we’ll update this post.

And please, send Leonard your love and support with letters and cards:

Leonard Peltier

#89637-132

USP Coleman I

P.O. Box 1033

Coleman, FL 33521

FREE LEONARD PELTIER!