President Donald Trump is offering clemency to the co-founder of a notorious Chicago gang, a rap artist and a music executive in the latest use of his pardon and commutation powers, according to a White House official.
The reprieves, detailed by an official on condition of anonymity to discuss plans not yet public, highlight the unusual mix of individuals who have been recipients of presidential clemency in Trump’s second term. The president has come to the aid of political supporters and donors, prominent business leaders convicted of white collar crimes and even reality television stars.
Kentrell Gaulden, better known as the musical artist NBA YoungBoy, will receive a pardon, the official said. Gaulden was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison on gun-related charges.
Trump also plans to commute the sentences of Larry Hoover, who founded the Gangster Disciples street gang on Chicago’s South Side, and Michael “Harry O” Harris, the music executive who helped found Death Row Records, according to the official.
Harris was sentenced to life on drug charges before receiving a commutation from Trump in 2021. Hoover has been serving multiple life sentences for running a criminal enterprise.
Trump is also offering pardons to two former Republican political figures: John G. Rowland, a onetime Connecticut governor convicted of corruption-related charges, and ex-US Representative Michael Grimm of New York, who was sentenced to eight months in prison over felony tax evasion charges, the official said.
Since retaking office in January, Trump has granted pardons or commutations to about 1,600 people, more than six times the total for his entire first term. The majority of the president’s grants of clemency have been for people charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, as well as white-collar criminals, anti-abortion activists and cryptocurrency entrepreneurs.
The president, who faced his own criminal cases after his first term, has often expressed sympathy for others caught in the judicial system — particularly political allies and those supportive of the administration’s priorities.
Trump is also offering pardons to Tanner Mansell and John Moore, two Florida men convicted of stealing fish in federal waters after they freed sharks caught on what they said they believed was an illegal fishing line. Another pardon recipient is Mark Bashaw, a former US Army officer who was discharged for not following Covid-19 mandates.
The Pentagon under Trump has offered an apology, back pay and an invitation back to military personnel who were forced out of the armed services over their refusal to take Covid vaccines.
On Tuesday, the White House announced that Trump was pardoning reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were convicted of fraud and tax evasion. Their daughter spoke at last year’s Republican National Convention and in February visited the White House in a bid to secure a pardon for her parents.
A pardon warrant for James Callahan, a labor union leader who pleaded guilty to failing to report gifts, was also posted on the Justice Department’s website this week.
NBA YoungBoy and Harris follow other prominent artists who have won clemency from Trump, including during his first term, rap stars Lil Wayne and Kodak Black.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
