On his final day in office, President Joe Biden commuted Leonard Peltier, an 80-year-old Turtle Mountain Chippewa man convicted of killing two FBI agents. Many Indigenous communities around the state and nation are celebrating the decision.

President Joe Biden on Monday commuted the sentence of Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist convicted of killing two FBI agents nearly 50 years ago in South Dakota. Peltier, 80, is a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa in North Dakota.

WASHINGTON (AP) — With just moments left before he leaves office, President Joe Biden commuted the life sentence of indigenous activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents.

The president commuted Peltier over the objection of former FBI Director Christopher Wray. In a private letter sent to Biden earlier this month and obtained by The Associated Press, Wray reiterated his position that “Peltier is a remorseless killer,” and urged the president not to act.

HuffPost unpacks why Joe Biden granting clemency to Native American activist Leonard Peltier in the final moments of his presidency is so significant.

The 11th hour clemency of Leonard Peltier has touched off a wave of joy, but it also brings pain to those who believe he should remain in prison for murder.

In his final hours as president, Joe Biden pardoned Marcus Garvey and commuted Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier’s life sentence to house arrest. Black and Indigenous activists celebrate these wins,