Larry Hoover Jr. is the son of Larry Hoover, co-founder of the Gangster Disciples, and the longtime public face of the campaign to free his father from prison. He founded the organization “Free My Father,” brought the case to Ye and ultimately to the White House, and after President Trump commuted his father’s six federal life sentences in May 2025, turned the fight toward Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, where a clemency decision on a 200-year state murder sentence is still pending.
Who He Is and How He Grew Up
Hoover Jr. was raised on the South Side of Chicago. His mother, Winndye Jenkins Hoover, has lived in the same two-flat since 1973, the year his father was arrested; she was pregnant with him when the family moved in.1The TRiiBE. Bring Larry Hoover Home He has spent essentially his whole life with his father incarcerated.
To keep distance from the name, his family sent him outside the Chicago public school system. He attended Brother Rice High School and later graduated from Morris Brown College in Atlanta. With his mother, he co-founded Paradigm Shift Academy, which focuses on youth outreach and motivational speaking.2Chicago Sun-Times. Gangster Disciples Larry Hoover Winndye First Step Act Prison Early Release
Why His Father Is in Prison
Larry Hoover co-founded the Black Gangster Disciple Nation by merging his Supreme Gangsters with David Barksdale’s rival organization. In 1973, Hoover and associate Andrew Howard were convicted of murdering 19-year-old drug dealer William “Pooky” Young. Hoover received an Illinois state sentence of 150 to 200 years.3Biography. Larry Hoover
Prosecutors said he kept running the Gangster Disciples from behind bars. A 1995 federal indictment charged him with operating a large drug trafficking enterprise, and in 1997 he was convicted on 40 counts, including continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy, extortion, and drug charges. He received six federal life terms.4Justia. United States v. Hoover, 246 F.3d 1054 He was sent to ADX Florence in Colorado, the federal supermax, where his legal team said he was held in a poured-concrete cell up to 23 hours a day with strictly limited communication.5NBC Chicago. Who Is Larry Hoover, What Is ADX Florence, and More Questions Answered He spent roughly two decades there.
Building the “Free My Father” Campaign
Hoover Jr. founded “Free My Father” and has spent years arguing for his father’s release and, more broadly, for prison reform, sentencing fairness, and attention to how long incarceration affects families.6University of Colorado Boulder. Larry Hoover Jr.
The campaign gained national reach through Ye. Rapper GLC introduced the two at a show, and in 2018 Ye raised the case directly with President Trump at the White House.7Billboard. Larry Hoover Jr. Thanks Kanye West for Dad’s Commuted Sentence Hoover Jr. then recorded a spoken-word segment on the track “Jesus Lord” for Ye’s 2021 album Donda, thanking him for “taking the fight for my father to the Oval Office.” He later said of the appearance, “It made my father seem like a human being. They only knew him as Larry Hoover, leader of the Gangster Disciples.”8Complex. Larry Hoover Jr. Explains How He Got on Kanye West’s Donda Album Donda was nominated for Album of the Year at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in 2022, with Hoover Jr. credited as a nominee.9Recording Academy. Larry Hoover Jr.
On December 9, 2021, Ye and Drake headlined the Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Amazon-sponsored event was reportedly produced on a budget exceeding $10 million and featured the Sunday Service Choir. Proceeds went to Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change, Hustle 2.0, and the Uptown People’s Law Center.10Pitchfork. Here’s What Happened at Kanye and Drake’s Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert Music executive J. Prince also joined the effort, with Hoover Jr. naming Prince alongside Ye and Drake as a key ally.11Variety. Drake Kanye West Free Larry Hoover Concert
The 2025 Federal Commutation
On May 28, 2025, President Trump commuted Larry Hoover’s six federal life sentences. The order declared the federal sentence “served” with no further fines, restitution, probation, or other conditions, and directed his immediate release from federal custody.12Al Jazeera. Who Is Larry Hoover and Why Has Trump Commuted His Federal Sentence At 74, Hoover had spent 52 years incarcerated.13NBC News. Trump Commutes Sentence of Chicago Gang Founder
The commutation did not free him. Presidential clemency reaches only federal sentences, and Hoover still carries the 200-year Illinois state sentence for the 1973 murder of William Young. He was transferred from ADX Florence to an undisclosed Illinois state prison.14New York Times. Trump Commutes Larry Hoover Sentence15Chicago Sun-Times. Gangster Disciples Larry Hoover Gangs Trump Eileen Burke
Hoover Jr. credited Ye with starting the chain of events that led to the commutation. “It started a long time ago with Kanye. Kanye put us on the platform,” he said. “He took us to the White House on his platform when he didn’t have to do that… He stuck his neck out there, and I’m glad he believed in this.”7Billboard. Larry Hoover Jr. Thanks Kanye West for Dad’s Commuted Sentence
The Illinois Clemency Fight
With the federal case closed, release now hinges on Illinois. The Prisoner Review Board has repeatedly denied parole, most recently in a 10-to-1 vote in late 2022 and again in 2024.16NBC Chicago. What Are Larry Hoover’s Chances of Parole17Chicago Tribune. Street Gang Leader Larry Hoover Clemency Bid Gov. JB Pritzker On April 7, 2026, a three-member panel of the board held a clemency hearing at the Bilandic Building in Chicago. Hoover was not present.
Former federal mob prosecutor John Gleeson, now on Hoover’s defense team, testified that Hoover has “grown up,” is remorseful, and “poses no risk of danger to the community.” Attorney Justin Moore called continued imprisonment a “slow, state-sanctioned death sentence.” Winndye Hoover told the panel, “He’s not a monster. His family loves him.”15Chicago Sun-Times. Gangster Disciples Larry Hoover Gangs Trump Eileen Burke The petition itself argued “profound personal transformation and exceptional rehabilitation” and noted Hoover has suffered multiple heart attacks in custody.17Chicago Tribune. Street Gang Leader Larry Hoover Clemency Bid Gov. JB Pritzker
Prosecutors opposed the petition. Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Enrique Abraham said clemency would minimize the 1973 murder and the crimes Hoover ran from prison, and noted that Hoover historically operated through “surrogates,” which he argued meant age alone did not eliminate the risk.15Chicago Sun-Times. Gangster Disciples Larry Hoover Gangs Trump Eileen Burke Ron Safer, the lead federal prosecutor at the 1997 trial, said that while he believes in redemption, “there are some crimes that are so heinous, so notorious, that they’re not deserving of mercy.” Chicago FBI Special Agent in Charge Doug DePodesta said in May 2026 that Hoover “caused a lot of damage in Chicago” and “is likely to continue serving time in state prison where he belongs.”18ABC News. Months After Trump’s Pardon Larry Hoover Pushes Pritzker Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke formally asked the governor to deny the petition.19Chicago Sun-Times. Larry Hoover Pritzker Gangster Disciples Clemency
As of mid-2026, the Prisoner Review Board has forwarded its confidential recommendation to Governor Pritzker, who faces no legal deadline to act. The decision is viewed as politically sensitive as Pritzker runs for a third term and weighs a potential 2028 presidential bid.17Chicago Tribune. Street Gang Leader Larry Hoover Clemency Bid Gov. JB Pritzker Larry Hoover, now 75, remains in an undisclosed Illinois state prison while his son keeps pressing.1The TRiiBE. Bring Larry Hoover Home