Biden pardons longtime Denver anti-violence community leader

President Joe Biden pardoned a longtime Denver anti-violence community leader this week as part of a sweeping clemency action as he prepares to leave office next month.

Johnnie Williams, 58, who heads Denver’s Gang Rescue and Support Project, or GRASP, was pardoned Thursday. He had been convicted in 1999 for assisting in the preparation of an income tax return containing a false statement, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado and a White House news release.

He was at the time sentenced to 12 months of probation in the federal case.

The White House’s announcement noted Williams “gives back to his community through volunteering and serving in his church. Mr. Williams has received many awards for his charitable work, including an award that honors individuals who work with young men of color. Community members describe Mr. Williams as honest, loyal and compassionate”.

Williams confirmed to The Denver Post on Saturday hat he had received the pardon, but did not immediately comment further.

For years, Williams worked as an anti-gang-violence advocate in Denver and took charge of GRASP in 2020 after joining in 2008. The anti-violence program, primarily run by former gang members, focuses on intervening with youth who are either in a gang or at risk for joining a gang.

Jason McBride, who worked at GRASP for four years and now heads his own nonprofit, McBride Impact, said Thursday that the pardon was well-deserved.

“He’s a guy who epitomizes all of us who kind of came up after him, maybe got into some trouble, and he was the example that we could all do something positive and better with our lives,” McBride said. “He’s a person who is all about the positives of the community, and he sees (the) positive in every person, even some who don’t deserve that kind of thing.”

Williams’ pardon was one of 39 granted Thursday by Biden to Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. The president also commuted the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic. It’s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history.

The commutations are for people who have served out home confinement sentences for at least one year after they were released. Prisons were uniquely bad for spreading the virus and some inmates were released in part to stop the spread. At one point, 1 in 5 prisoners had COVID-19, according to a tally kept by The Associated Press.

Biden said he would be taking more steps in the weeks ahead and would continue to review clemency petitions. The second largest single-day act of clemency was by Barack Obama, with 330, shortly before leaving office in 2017.

“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances,” Biden said in a statement. “As president, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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