Trump Has Commuted Larry Hoover’s Sentence

The president, on a pardon spree, shortened the infamous former gang leader’s sentence after years of advocates pressing for his release.

President Donald Trump listens to a question as he signs executive orders.
Evan Vucci/AP

President Donald Trump has commuted the sentence of Larry Hoover, the infamous former gang leader from Chicago, according to a White House official.

Hoover, the co-founder of Chicago gang Gangster Disciples, has been serving multiple life sentences since the 1970s. He has multiple state and federal convictions, including for murder and founding a criminal enterprise. He has made repeated requests to shorten his sentence, including under the First Step Act, a criminal justice reform bill passed during Trump’s first term.

Hoover and his family members have long maintained that he is no longer affiliated with Gangster Disciples and does not maintain any ties to the gang. But every request to amend his sentence has been denied, until now.