Trump Commutes Sentence of Larry Hoover, Notorious Chicago Gang Leader

Trump Commutes Sentence Of Larry Hoover, Notorious Chicago Gang Leader

President Donald Trump has commuted the federal prison sentence of Larry Hoover, the 74-year-old founder of the Gangster Disciples, according to The Guardian.

Hoover had been serving six life sentences at ADX Florence, one of the most secure prisons in the U.S. Trump’s commutation, granted on Tuesday, wipes out those federal convictions.

But Hoover isn’t walking free just yet.

He’s still locked up under a separate state conviction — a 150- to 200-year sentence for a 1973 murder in Illinois. That charge predates the state’s 1978 parole reform, making Hoover technically eligible for parole.

Hoover’s legal team had sought clemency under the First Step Act, a reform law Trump signed in 2018. His attorneys argued he’d renounced gang activity and spent decades in isolation.

The Guardian reports Trump acted on those claims, commuting only the federal part of Hoover’s sentence.

While the move has drawn praise from some justice reform advocates, it’s also stirring backlash from victims’ families and officials who view Hoover as a symbol of gang violence in Chicago.

Still, the commutation marks a stunning shift in a case long surrounded by controversy and high-profile attention — including past advocacy from rapper Kanye West, who met with Trump in 2018 to discuss Hoover’s situation.