Rage Against the Machine are praising the commuted life sentence of 80-year-old indigenous rights activist Leonard Peltier, whom the band has long championed in the decades since his imprisonment in the ’70s.
In one of his final acts in office, outgoing US President Joe Biden commuted Peltier’s sentence to indefinite house arrest on Monday (January 20th), freeing Peltier from prison after numerous attempts to do so were denied over the years after he became eligible for parole in 1993.
RATM posted the following on their Instagram page: “Anger is a gift. Leonard Peltier to be freed.”
Rage dedicated their song “Freedom,” the final single from their 1992 self-titled album, to Peltier, and the band used the song’s music video to shed light on his case.
An indigenous rights activist with the American Indian Movement, Peltier was sentenced to two consecutive life terms for the first degree murder of two FBI agents during an armed shootout back in 1975 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
The two agents were apparently looking to apprehend an individual unrelated to Peltier at the time, and multiple individuals were involved with the shootout — two of whom, Robert Robideau and Darrelle “Dino” Butler — were acquitted on the grounds of self-defense. Peltier had previous run-ins with the law and was ultimately convicted despite denying that he was the individual who committed the murders — a position he has maintained over the years.
Peltier later escaped from prison in 1979 before being apprehended days later, adding an additional seven years to his sentence. In the decades since his conviction, much scrutiny was brought against Peltier’s conviction, which many felt was unsubstantiated by conflicting evidence, contradictory statements, and suppressed/withheld documents that were classified for national security reasons.
RATM’s Tom Morello and Brad Wilk each offered separate statements on social media, in addition to the band’s aforementioned post, following the commuted sentence.
Wrote Morello:
“LEONARD PELTIER IS GOING HOME!! For almost 5 decades human rights organizations, Native American activists, average everyday people and bands like RATM have lobbied for the release of political prisoner Leonard Peltier. Leonard has become a friend over the years and I am so glad at 80 years old and in poor health he will be able to spend his remaining years with family and friends. For this MASSIVE RIFF MONDAY there can be only one choice, RATM’s “FREEDOM” whose video exposed a new generation to this historical injustice.”
Wrote Wilk:
“After almost 50 years of unjust incarceration, clemency was finally granted to Leonard Peltier! From as far back as the first RATM video which marks his story and the incident at Oglala to marching in the streets of NY at the end of Clintons term and beyond we have been hoping for this day of clemency and Justice for Peltier to finally come. The necklace in slide (7) was made for me in jail by Leonard. He made one for all four of us after we released the Freedom video. Unreal…. Feels bitter sweet… but clemency will finally be served for Leonard Peltier.”
You can see the various social media posts below, as well as the music video for “Freedom.”