Donald Trump Has Commuted Larry Hoover's Sentence, but What Crimes Did Hoover Commit?

President Trump has reportedly commuted the sentence of Larry Hoover, one of Chicago's most prominent gang leaders. Following the news that Larry's sentence had been commuted, many wanted to better understand both why Trump had chosen to pardon him, and why Larry was in prison with a life sentence to begin with.

Hoover, who is now 74, was the founder of Gangster Disciples, and has spent nearly three decades at ADX Florence in Colorado, which is widely considered to be one of the most secure prisons in the country. Here's what we know about why he was there.

Although Hoover's federal sentence has been commuted, he still faces a 200-year state sentence for the 1973 murder of William "Pooky" Young, a 19-year-old neighborhood drug dealer. He was originally incarcerated on state charges, and his federal sentence came decades later.

Hoover's case has been controversial for some time, in part because of his rehabilitation in prison and in part because of his reputation in the Chicago area.

The federal sentence occurred in 1997 when Hoover was found guilty of conspiracy, extortion, money laundering, and running a continuing criminal enterprise from state prison. That is the sentence that Trump commuted, which suggests that, at least throughout the first part of his incarceration, Hoover was still actively involved with the gang that he helped found and led before he got locked up.

In 2021, artists like Drake and Kanye West performed at an Amazon-sponsored concert to advocate for his release. Some see Hoover as a Robin Hood-esque figure who was trying to work in the best interests of his community, while others claim that he is still controlling the gang he started from prison. Now, he'll be transferred from federal custody in Colorado to a state prison facility in Illinois, but it's unlikely that he'll be released.

"The courts have demonstrated a complete unwillingness to consider Mr. Hoover's considerable growth and complete rehabilitation," Bonjean Law Group stated. "Despite the court's unwillingness to do the right thing, Mr. Hoover has been able to keep his voice alive through the incredible work of many advocates and supporters."

Now, those who sought justice for Hoover have seen some measure of it done.

Although we have confirmation that Hoover's sentence was pardoned, we don't have any indication from Trump as to why he chose to commute the sentence. Hoover's commutation came amid a flurry of pardons from the White House, which also included one for Michael Grimm, a former New York Congressman.

If Trump had some overarching rationale for commuting Hoover's sentence, we don't know it. It's possible that he'll be asked about it, but that might be the only way we'd get a definitive answer. Trump has already pardoned more than 40 people during his time in the White House, which is in addition to the roughly 1,600 pardons he doled out to those who played some role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.