President Donald Trump has commuted the federal life sentence for infamous Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover, abruptly ending Hoover’s yearslong quest to win early release under the First Step Act law passed during Trump’s first term.
The one page order said Hoover’s sentence was considered served “with no further fines, restitution, probation or other conditions,” and directed the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to release him “immediately,” according to a copy of the document provided by Hoover’s legal team.
The controversial move — part of a slew of commutations and pardons announced by the White House this week — means Hoover will likely be transferred out of the supermax prison compound in Florence, Colorado, that he’s called home for the past two decades.
But Hoover isn’t going free — he’s still serving a 200-year sentence for his state court convictions for murder.
Federal prosecutors have vehemently opposed any breaks for Hoover, now 73, arguing he did untold damage to communities across Chicago during his reign on the streets. They argued he has continued to hold sway over the gang’s hierarchy while imprisoned, even promoting an underling he’d secretly communicated with through coded messages hidden in a dictionary.