On June 26, 1975 two FBI special agents, Jack Coler and Ronald Williams, died on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. A third man, a member of the American Indian Movement, also died that day. Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist, was charged with the murder of the two agents and, on April 18, 1977, a federal jury in Fargo, North Dakota, found him guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. On June 1, 1977 he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.
He spent almost fifty years in federal custody. His case drew sustained attention from human rights groups, tribal organizations and members of Congress who questioned the fairness of his trial, and equally firm opposition from the FBI and associations of former agents. In January 2025, in the final hours of his term, President Joe Biden commuted the sentence to home confinement. The commutation was not a pardon, and the conviction was left in place.
The FBI's file on the Pine Ridge investigation records that it led to the trial and conviction of Leonard Peltier and the trial and acquittal of two other individuals. A federal grand jury in Rapid City, South Dakota, began hearing the matter on July 14, 1975. On November 25, 1975 Peltier and three other men were indicted. Peltier was arrested in Canada on February 6, 1976 and was extradited to the United States in December 1976.
The prosecutions of the others ended before his. In July 1976 a federal jury in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, acquitted two co-defendants. In September 1976 the charges against the fourth man were dropped. Peltier's trial was moved from South Dakota to Fargo, North Dakota, on January 14, 1977.
The trial in Fargo ran through March and April 1977. The prosecution rested on April 6 and closing arguments began on April 15. On April 18, 1977 the jury returned its verdict: guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. Peltier was sentenced on June 1, 1977 to two consecutive life sentences.
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the convictions in 1978, and the Supreme Court denied review in 1979. In April 1982 his lawyers filed a motion to set the convictions aside, relying on FBI documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act that they said showed suppressed evidence and false testimony. The district court denied the motion in 1983 without a hearing on the main claim.
In 1984 the Eighth Circuit vacated that ruling and sent the case back for a hearing on an FBI teletype that had not been disclosed to the defense. After the hearing the district court again denied relief in 1985, finding no constitutional error. On September 11, 1986 the Eighth Circuit affirmed, holding that the undisclosed evidence did not create a reasonable probability of a different verdict. It denied rehearing on December 30, 1986, and the Supreme Court was then asked to review the case again in 1987.
In July 1979 Peltier escaped from federal custody and was recaptured six days later. He was convicted of the escape in January 1980 and received seven additional years; the Ninth Circuit reversed that conviction in March 1981.
The U.S. Parole Commission denied parole in 1993. On August 21, 2009 it denied parole again and set the next eligibility for July 2024. After a hearing in June 2024 it announced a further denial on July 2, 2024, and he could not seek another hearing until June 2026.
On January 20, 2025, in a statement on pardons and commutations, President Joe Biden said: "I am also commuting the life sentence imposed on Leonard Peltier so that he serves the remainder of his sentence in home confinement." The statement went on to say that the commutation "will not pardon him for his underlying crimes." The warrant, signed on January 19, 2025, commuted the remainder of the total sentence of imprisonment, to be served in its entirety on home confinement, to take effect on February 18, 2025, and left intact all other components of the sentence.
Peltier, then 80, left the federal prison in Florida on February 18, 2025 and began home confinement. As of October 2026 he was serving the remainder of the sentence in home confinement in North Dakota.
Peltier's supporters, among them his attorney, a former federal judge, and human rights groups that regarded him as a political prisoner, say he was wrongly convicted, that prosecutors proved only that he was present, and that the government withheld evidence. The attorney has called the trial a sham.
The FBI and its current and former agents dispute those claims. The FBI says Peltier was responsible for the deaths of the two agents. In the weeks before the commutation the FBI Director wrote to the President opposing any relief, citing the evidence of guilt and Peltier's refusal to accept responsibility, and the FBI Agents Association called the commutation a disgraceful last-minute act.
The courts that reviewed the case, including the Eighth Circuit in 1978 and 1986, upheld the conviction.
June 26, 1975: Two FBI special agents and a third man die on the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota.
November 25, 1975: Peltier and three other men are indicted.
February 6, 1976: Peltier is arrested in Alberta, Canada.
July 1976: A federal jury in Iowa acquits two co-defendants.
April 18, 1977: Jury in Fargo, North Dakota, finds Peltier guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.
June 1, 1977: Sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.
1978: Eighth Circuit affirms the convictions.
1979: Supreme Court denies review; Peltier escapes federal custody in July and is recaptured.
1984: Eighth Circuit orders a hearing on an undisclosed FBI teletype.
September 11, 1986: Eighth Circuit affirms denial of a new trial.
1993: Parole denied.
August 21, 2009: Parole denied; next eligibility set for July 2024.
July 2, 2024: Parole denied; next hearing not before June 2026.
January 20, 2025: President commutes the sentence to home confinement; not a pardon.
February 18, 2025: Released from federal custody in Florida to home confinement.
October 12, 2026: Under home confinement in North Dakota.