Larry Hoover Jr. is appreciative that the artist formerly known as Kanye West “stuck his neck out” for his father in wake of the news that his prison sentence has been commuted by Donald Trump.
Hoover credits Ye and Kim Kardashian with getting him in touch with Alice Marie Johnson, whom he refers to as the “pardon czar.”
Hoover explained how Ye’s involvement contributed to his father’s commuted prison sentence. “He had a very big part because he started it all off,” he told TMZ. “He put us on the platform. He took us to the White House on his platform when he didn’t have to do that.”
“He stuck his neck out there,” Hoover continued. “We know he don’t have a problem with sticking his neck out there about what he believes in, and I’m glad he believed in this.”
Kanye West has supported efforts to free Larry Hoover, discussing the case with Trump in 2018, featuring a message from Hoover’s son on his 2021 Donda album, and hosting a benefit concert with Drake that same year.
CBS News reported that Hoover’s sentence was commuted by Trump on Wednesday, May 28. This came as part of a series of pardons issued that day, which also included real estate tycoons Todd and Julie Chrisley—who were serving a combined 19-year sentence for federal charges of bank fraud and tax evasion—and NBA YoungBoy. The rapper later issued a statement thanking Trump for the pardon via Instagram.
Hoover Jr. also shared a photo of Johnson holding up a signature from Trump, with a caption that read: “Almost home!! Too short to hold a long conversation.”
Larry Hoover Sr., founder of the Chicago street gang the Gangster Disciples, spent nearly 30 years in federal prison. However, he still faces a 200-year state sentence in Illinois for the 1973 murder of 19-year-old William Young.
