LEONARD: Political Prisoner

We dissect the murder trial of Bob Robideau and Dino Butler who were acquitted by an all-white jury of twelve in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after a period of intense deliberations that almost resulted in a hung jury and retrial. This is the story of how an all-star defense team, a celebrity peanut gallery, and a plucky community organizing effort combined to produce one of the most unlikely legal victories in the history of the United States. Support the show

On February 6th, 1976, a tip led Canadian police to the Mountain Cree Camp School in Alberta where one of America’s Most Wanted was hiding out with a few of his friends – and at least one government operative. Hear how Peltier’s luck finally ran out despite the efforts of his legal team and an international coalition of native peoples that was helmed by his adopted mother, Ethel Peason, an honored member and leader of the Kwagiulth Nation on Vancouver Island. Support the show

We explore what went down in the federal courthouse in Fargo to convince Leonard that he’d been railroaded into a life behind bars with help from author Louise Erdrich, filmmaker Kevin McKiernan, and attorneys Kevin H. Sharp and Bruce Ellison, among others. Hear how Peltier’s wrongful conviction was orchestrated by a hanging judge in cahoots with the FBI. Support the show

We interview Native American author Louise Erdrich, who attended Leonard Peltier’s murder trial in her hometown of Fargo, North Dakota, in 1977. The 2021 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Fiction analyzes where it all went wrong for Peltier, while sharing how the experience affected her concept of justice, a theme which became a hallmark of her literary career. Along the way, Louise reads from her correspondence with Leonard, revealing new details about their friendship, before laying out what his freedom would mean to the Indigenous community in North America and around the world. Support the show

Under increasing scrutiny to avenge their fallen brothers, the FBI fans out across the country and tracks down the Jumping Bull fugitives one by one. Through a combination of illegal searches, physical violence, and coerced confessions, the Bureau builds a circumstantial case against Dino Butler, Bob Robideau and Leonard Peltier, who are indicted on charges of first-degree murder around Thanksgiving in 1975. Only one of those men is not in custody at the time, and he is caravaning up the West Coast in an RV owned by actor Marlon Brando. Support the show

Singer-songwriter Joe Troop details how he learned of Leonard’s story while living abroad in Argentina with his Grammy nominated urban bluegrass band Che Apalache. Hear Joe’s new single “Free Leonard Peltier” that was released in support of the American Indian Movement’s Walk to Justice, which will culminate in Washington, D.C., with rallies and musical performances calling for clemency for America’s longest serving Indigenous political prisoner. Support the show

Singer-songwriter Keith Secola expounds on Leonard’s life as a symbol for native rights and Indigenous sovereignty in an unplugged acoustic set, which includes an Anishinaabe flute blessing, the track “Innocent Man,” and a very special version of “NDN Kars,” the number one most requested song on tribal radio since 1992. Support the show

Journalist Jen Bendery has been reporting on Leonard Peltier’s case for the Huffington Post for the last two years. In this one-on-one interview we chat with Jen about the Biden administration’s strides for Native Americans, missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW), and how a reporter’s routine request for a status update from the Office of the Pardon Attorney put her on the FBI’s radar. Support the show

On the 46th anniversary of the Oglala shootout, we rally for clemency at the Black Voters Matter demonstration in Washington, D.C., a few hundred yards from where a violent mob stormed the Capitol Building on January 6th. It’s a beautiful moment – until a white man in an American flag cape, Navy uniform, and Michael Myers mask rushes the stage and wreaks havoc. Support the show

We return to Pine Ridge to visit the grave of Joe Kills Right Stuntz, the murder site of Pedro Bissonette, and the June Little cabin on the Jumping Bull ranch with Chase Iron Eyes. Chase is an Oglala Lakota and currently serves as the co-director and lead counsel of the Lakota People's Law Project. But there’s something else you should know about Chase. His personal connection to the Oglala firefight and Leonard. Support the show

The FBI transferred Special Agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams to Pine Ridge to help with a backlog of cases despite neither having any training, experience, or special preparation for the civil war raging on the reservation. On June 25, 1975, the day before the shootout, a colleague advised the pair not to return to the Jumping Bulls on their own, but the G-men ignored the warning with deadly results. In this episode we examine the Bureau’s motivations and the beginnings of their ResMurs investigation. Support the show

In the early morning hours of June 28th, 1975, daylight was breaking on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation when Leonard Peltier, Bob Robideau, and Dino Butler discovered they’d been hiking in the wrong direction. Instead of finding themselves in Manderson, a nearby community home to numerous allies, they were in Pine Ridge village, the command center for the largest manhunt in American history. Hear how a handful of unsung local heroes risked it all to rescue the fugitives from the belly of the beast. Support the show

To avoid the tragic fate of Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, who were killed after surrendering to the US government, AIM leader Dennis Banks was persuaded to leave Wounded Knee the night before the federal stand down on May 8, 1973. The warrior selected to lead his escape party was Lenny Foster, a Diné Navajo, who has since become Leonard Peltier’s spiritual adviser. Hear how Lenny was able to evade detection and smuggle Dennis Banks to safety with the help of the spirits. Support the show

Over the course of his tenure, President Trump issued 143 pardons, but he showed no mercy to Leonard Peltier. In this episode Leonard reacts to Trump’s snub; filmmaker Kevin McKiernan joins us for a conversation with Indian treaty expert Charles Wilkinson; and Carol Gokee from the International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee shares important updates on Leonard’s case and medical condition. Support the show

According to the documentary’s director, accomplished filmmaker Michael Apted (Coal Miner’s Daughter, Thunderheart, The World Is Not Enough), Robert Redford ruined “Incident at Oglala” out of fear of upsetting the powers that be. Although Redford was scarcely involved in the production of the documentary, he became heavily involved in its post-production, exercising his authority as executive producer to censor the final cut. When Mr. Apted objected to the omission of a vital section of commentary from two circuit court judges criticizing the handling of Leonard’s trial, he was overruled and banned from the film’s Sundance premiere. Support the show

Political prisoners are often forgotten because the government disappears them into the system. Leonard’s art draws attention back to his story, which is why some would rather silence him. In this bonus episode we speak with UCLA professor Dr. Tria Blu Wakpa, who explains why Leonard’s art is a powerful example of indigenous resilience, and Larry Hildes, the civil liberties attorney fighting for Leonard’s right to free speech. We also attend the second annual Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration at Los Angeles City Hall with Oglala Lakota tribal presidential candidate Chase Iron Eyes, who opens up about his arrest at Standing Rock and why he believes the United States should free Leonard to promote a conciliation with Indigenous nations. Support the show

The Bureau of Prisons makes it deliberately hard to interview federal inmates. In the case of political prisoners like Leonard Peltier, they make it even harder. But in this episode, we get around all their procedural barricades and finally speak with Leonard himself—about his health, his hopes, and his future. We also interview Kevin Sharp, the lawyer petitioning the Trump Administration to grant Leonard clemency. And we talk with two of Leonard’s close friends: Lenny Foster, Leonard’s long-time spiritual adviser who’s brought healing to more than 1,500 imprisoned Native Americans; and Connie Nelson, the filmmaker and activist (and former wife of Willie Nelson) who's been advocating for Leonard’s release since the 1980s. Support the show

In June, 1975, reporter Kevin McKiernan traveled to South Dakota to cover the trial of AIM leader Dennis Banks who was standing trial for his role in the 1973 Custer Courthouse Riot. But as the hearing got underway on June 26, word spread that shots had been fired 100 miles away on the Pine Ridge Reservation between Federal agents and members of AIM. So McKiernan jumped in his truck and raced into the center of the firefight. Support the show

Edgar Bear Runner, the newly elected President of the Porcupine District of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, was just 25 on the morning of June 26, 1975. When shots rang out on the Jumping Bull ranch between the FBI and members of the American Indian Movement, Edgar visited a Lakota medicine man, said a prayer, and went in to help negotiate a truce. But he also had an ulterior motive: to help buy time for the AIMsters to escape. Support the show

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation—full of gold, uranium, and oil—contains some of the most valuable land on the planet. But the Federal Government didn’t know that when they originally granted the territory to the Lakota in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. So for the next 100 years, the U.S. secretly took back the land piece by piece: ultimately with the help of Dick Wilson, the dictatorial Tribal Chairman of Pine Ridge, and his private militia, the GOON squad. Support the show