It Was ‘Big Meech,’ Now It’s ‘Larry Hoover’: Gangster Disciples Founder’ Federal Life Sentence Commuted By Trump

Larry Hoover gets his six federal life sentences commuted by Donald Trump.

Gangster Disciples Founder Larry Hoover has been granted clemency by President Donald Trump for his six federal life sentences.

Hoover’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, confirmed the commuted sentence on May 28, ABC7 reports. While Hoover was granted federal clemency from Trump, he will remain in prison to serve a 200-year state sentence for a 1973 murder in Chicago, unless Gov. JB Pritzker grants him clemency.

His wife and son have expressed their gratitude for the commutation, with Larry Hoover Jr. highlighting his father’s rehabilitation and advocating for his full release.

“It’s overwhelming,” wife Winndye Hoover said. “It’s a long time coming, and we just want to hope it go all the way through.”

“He deserves redemption,” son Larry Hoover Jr. said. “He deserves a second chance at being a part of this community, and he can be a benefit to this community if they want him to be a benefit to this community.”

Once labeled by a judge as one of Illinois’ most notorious criminals, Hoover has been serving a life sentence at a Colorado prison. He was initially convicted of a 1973 murder in Chicago and later found guilty on multiple federal charges. While incarcerated, federal prosecutors alleged Hoover continued leading the Gangster Disciples, orchestrating murders, beatings, and drug trafficking from behind bars. In 1997, he received six life sentences for those crimes.

In recent years, Hoover’s attorney has argued that the now-74-year-old has been rehabilitated. However, Ron Safer, the lead federal prosecutor in Hoover’s 1997 case, expressed disappointment over the clemency decision.

“I believe in redemption. I believe in rehabilitation. I believe in mercy. There are some crimes that are so heinous, so notorious, that they’re not deserving of mercy,” Safer said. “If Larry Hoover said there was going to be a killing, there was a killing.”

Hoover’s clemency was part of a wave of pardons and commutations issued by Trump this week, including high-profile names like rapper NBA YoungBoy, reality stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, and Death Row Records co-founder Michael Harris.