We speak with NDN Collective founder and CEO Nick Tilsen, who was with Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier as he was released from a federal prison in Florida Monday after nearly half a century behind bars, and returned home with him to North Dakota. Peltier has always maintained his innocence for the 1975 killing of two FBI officers, and many activists have noted inconsistencies in his trial. In the final days of his presidency, former President Joe Biden granted Peltier clemency, commuting his life sentence. Peltier will remain on house arrest in the Turtle Mountain community in North Dakota. “Today I am finally free! They may have imprisoned me but they never took my spirit!” Peltier told supporters once he was released. “Thank you to all my supporters throughout the world who fought for my freedom.” Tilsen said it was “absolute pure joy” seeing him out of prison. “The release of Leonard Peltier is something that touches all of us, because all of us see a little bit of ourselves in Leonard Peltier.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Democracy Now! | Radio Free (2025-02-19T13:15:25+00:00) “I Am Finally Free!”: Indigenous Leader Leonard Peltier Released After Nearly 50 Years Imprisoned. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2025/02/19/i-am-finally-free-indigenous-leader-leonard-peltier-released-after-nearly-50-years-imprisoned/
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