In a follow-up to our previous story, Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist serving two life sentences for the 1975 murder of two FBI agents, has once again been denied parole. This decision has sparked disappointment but little surprise among his supporters.
Former Fargo Mayor John Lindgren, a vocal advocate for Peltier, expressed his frustration, stating, “There’s a whole social kind of history behind him that makes him an enemy in the eyes of some people, and they want revenge and that’s the way they’re getting it, is by not allowing him out of prison.”
Peltier, now 79, has long maintained his innocence in the deaths of FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams during a shootout on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation. His legal team argues that his serious health condition cannot be adequately treated in prison.
However, FBI Director Christopher Wray opposed Peltier’s release, asserting that Peltier “intentionally murdered these two young men and has never expressed remorse for his ruthless actions.”