# Leonard Peltier Up for Parole (for Murder of 2 FBI Agents in 1975--American Indian Movement) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 11, 2024, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742 "2024-06-11T16:53:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2024, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/21 "2024-06-11T21:57:26Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > They tried to tie him to that through an a casing from an AR-15 with his fingerprints on it but there were several AR-15s at the scene and there is no conclusive proof that casing came from the gun he was holding. The details of the entire gunfight are open to question from who fired first to who fired last. > **[United States v. Peltier, 609 F. Supp. 1143 (D.N.D. 1985)](https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/609/1143/1886896/)** > > United States v. Peltier, 609 F. Supp. 1143 (D.N.D. 1985) case opinion from the US District Court for the District of North Dakota This claim seems to come from a legal defense that Peltier’s team filed, saying that they had found a report in the FBI files showing that none of the bullets had come from his weapon. It was an early report from the lab analyst, on the first hundred or so bullet casings that they’d been asked to review. They would go on to test 2000+ bullet casings, with the casing with evidence number Q #2628 from the FBI officer’s trunk coming from Peltier’s gun. This matter was also introduced and discussed in the original trial: > [@](#): > > In addition, the October 2 teletype is merely cumulative in relation to the evidence produced at Peltier’s trial. The October 31, 1975, lab report, which had a meaning identical to the October 2, 1975, teletype in its statement that “none of the ammunition components recovered at the \ ***1154** RESMURS scene could be associated” with the Wichita AR-15, was introduced in evidence at the trial, as Defendant’s Exhibit 135. A February 10, 1976, lab report stating that the .223 bullet casing found in the trunk of Agent Coler’s car had been associated with the Wichita AR-15 was also admitted at trial, as Defendant’s Exhibit 192. Agent Hodge testified at trial he did not examine the .223 bullet casing found in the trunk of Agent Coler’s car until December 1975 or January 1976, thus explaining the discrepancy between the two reports. Trial Transcript at 3388. Therefore, the evidence at trial included the apparently inconsistent lab reports and Agent Hodge’s testimony concerning the time he examined the .223 casing found in the trunk of Agent Coler’s car for the jury’s consideration. > > Because the October 2, 1975, teletype, evaluated in the context of the entire record, would not have affected the outcome of the trial, and does not create a reasonable doubt that did not otherwise exist, Peltier has failed to establish constitutional error. The nondisclosure of the teletype did not violate the _Brady_ doctrine. The record of the case as it presently exists conclusively shows Peltier is entitled to no relief. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2024, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/22 "2024-06-11T22:03:23Z")
I’m really curious how exactly one can shoot at two FBI guys that are actively searching for a man named wanted for questioning in connection an assault . . . in self defense. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2024, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/23 "2024-06-11T22:05:39Z")
They claim the FBI agents shot first. Only Peltier knew he was wanted on a warrant. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2024, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/24 "2024-06-11T22:06:20Z")
I’m over here minding my own business when I hear some shooting. I go to investigate, a bullet whizzes by and I see some guy pointing a gun at me. I draw my own gun and fire in return. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2024, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/25 "2024-06-11T22:09:00Z")
Yeah, > Peltier had an outstanding federal warrant for attempted murder of a Milwaukee WI police officer - although Williams and Coler {the two FBI agents} were not aware of this. and, > It is unclear whether the occupants of the vehicle began the firing first or if it was Williams or Coler. > **[Leonard Peltier | Shootout at Pine Ridge South Dakota](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Peltier#Shootout_at_Pine_Ridge_South_Dakota)** > > On June 26, 1975, Special Agents Ronald Arthur Williams and Jack Ross Coler of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) returned to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to continue searching for a young man named Jimmy Eagle, who was wanted for questioning in connection with the recent assault of two local ranch hands and theft of a pair of cowboy boots. > Sometime after 11:00 a.m., Williams and Coler, driving two separate unmarked cars, spotted, reported, and followed what was variously described a... Not that Wikipedia is the last word on any of this. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/26 "2024-06-12T06:11:56Z")
I seem to remember the last time this came up. I think Ol’ Lenny is right where he belongs. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/27 "2024-06-12T12:12:53Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I seem to remember the last time this came up The first time I heard about it was 1999 when Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder were making noise about it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/28 "2024-06-12T14:54:22Z")
From Wikipedia: > According to [_High Country News_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Country_News) in 2016: “Everywhere he’s been, inmates have jumped and beaten him, likely with the collusion of guards.”[[84]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Peltier#cite_note-85) That alone, if true, is a good argument for his release. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/29 "2024-06-12T16:32:58Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > That alone, if true, is a good argument for his release. No, it’s a good argument to put him in isolation. Or fire the guards. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/30 "2024-06-12T17:02:19Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > . Or fire the guards. Or prosecute them, if they have evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2024, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/31 "2024-06-13T16:46:35Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > > According to [_High Country News_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Country_News) in 2016: “Everywhere he’s been, inmates have jumped and beaten him, likely with the collusion of guards.”[[84]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Peltier#cite_note-85) > > That alone, if true, is a good argument for his release. Trump could be politically persecuted or he could, simply, be guilty as charged. The only way to know which is the true answer is to assemble as much evidence as possible and then you evaluate it critically - both for the right answer and for the question of how conclusive the evidence really is of that answer. Likewise with Peltier, taking the accusation at face value, there could be a many-multi-decade vendetta against the man by the FBI with them employing guards and other inmates to punish him, or he could just be an insufferable asshole - once you get to know him - and he brings retribution on himself by dint of being an asshole to individuals who are in a position and liable to be inclined to make him suffer for it. In terms of evidence, we aren’t really close enough to the situation to evaluate it. I’m sure that the can seem like a nice and respectable man for one-off meetings, so even a few sit-downs might not be enough to really let you know what he’s like to live with. We can say that it seems difficult for the FBI to maintain that particular level of hate for nearly a full half century, through a number of directors and Presidents of both political persuasions. It also seems peculiar that there wouldn’t be any leaks about FBI payoffs to these inmates, who are beating on the guy, over the course of 50 years. Now, I wouldn’t call that conclusive by any stretch. But it doesn’t incline me to stick my neck out very far in Mr Peltier’s defense. Of course, if there haven’t been people randomly attacking Peltier, then that would be its own issue because who spread that story? Are there any pictures of him with wounds? That feels like the sort of thing that would be easy for his lawyer to get and, eventually, find their way to the Internet. I’m not finding any and that seems questionable. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/32 "2024-07-02T18:43:52Z")
Parole denied. [Leonard Peltier, Native American activist imprisoned for almost 50 years, denied parole request (nbcnews.com)](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/leonard-peltier-native-american-activist-imprisoned-almost-50-years-de-rcna156877) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/33 "2024-07-02T21:15:36Z")
From the article: > “Activists sympathetic to Peltier attempted to mislead the Commission and the public to secure release of this unremorseful murderer of FBI Special Agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams,” Bara said in a statement, adding that the association “will continue to counter these efforts, and we stand with the entire FBI family in our determination to ensure that Peltier serves his full sentence.” He seems assured to serve the first of the two consecutive life sentences, but the second one will prove tricky. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/34 "2024-07-03T00:24:44Z")
Can’t means won’t. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/35 "2024-07-03T14:12:42Z")
Leave him in prison ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/36 "2025-01-20T20:27:42Z")
Biden gives Peltier clemency > **[Joe Biden Frees Leonard Peltier](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-leonard-peltier-clemency_n_67608b04e4b0d06419ec6367?ds)** > > The ailing Native American rights activist has been in prison for nearly 50 years after the U.S. government lied to put him there. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/37 "2025-01-20T20:31:48Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > Biden gives Peltier clemency Wow. I didn’t see that coming. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2025, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/38 "2025-01-22T15:26:11Z")
Justice at last! ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2025, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/39 "2025-01-22T23:56:50Z")
The last words of Sex Pistols’ impresario Malcolm McLaren, who would have turned 79 today, was “Free Leonard Peltier.” ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742/40 "2025-01-23T00:07:08Z")
There’s a guy around here who’s been hanging “Free Leonard Peltier” signs from local overpasses for decades now. Hope he has a back-up hobby. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-peltier-up-for-parole-for-murder-of-2-fbi-agents-in-1975-american-indian-movement/1002742.md?page=3)