Wednesday marks the end of Donald Trump’s presidency and the start of Joe Biden’s term as the nation’s leader. Despite this, Trump is using his presidential powers to the fullest extent in order to hand out pardons to several individuals in prison or facing charges for an array of crimes. According to Reuters, some of those having their sentences commuted were rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black, who were both pardoned by Trump on Tuesday night. The action comes a week after reports claimed that the rappers were on the president’s list of potential pardons.
Wayne’s commute comes after he pled guilty in December to illegal possession of a firearm, a charge he was set to face up to 10 years in prison for due to a prior felony gun possession conviction. The new charge stemmed from a December 2019 incident where federal agents were tipped off about a firearm on Wayne’s plane at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. After a search was conducted, a gold-plated Remington 1911, .45-caliber handgun was found in his bag. Kodak Black, on the other hand, is currently in prison for falsifying documents in order to buy a firearm. He was arrested on the charge in May 2019 and six months later he was sentenced to 46 months in prison.
In addition to Wayne and Kodak’s commute, Trump reportedly also pardoned Death Row Records’ co-founder Michael “Harry-O” Harris.
(via Reuters)
Kodak Black is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.