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Presidential Clemency Record

Dwayne Michael Carter

Pardon

  /   2017–2021

Record at a Glance

Clemency type
Pardon
Presidential term
2017–2021
Federal district
Southern District of Florida
Offense
Possession of firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon
Sentence
N/A
Current status
Carter continues to release and perform music under the name Lil Wayne. The 2021 pardon and subsequent dismissal ended the covered federal gun case before sentencing; no later legal development is asserted from the professional music source used for this status update.

Background

On December 11, 2020 Carter pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon after a December 23, 2019 private-flight arrival in Florida. Sentencing was scheduled for January 28, 2021, but Trump pardoned him beforehand.

Original Case

Rapper Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., known as Lil Wayne, pleaded guilty in December 2020 to possessing a firearm and ammunition after a felony conviction. The charge arose from a December 2019 search at Opa-locka Executive Airport after Carter arrived in South Florida on a private plane. Carter told officers he had a gun in his bag; a warranted search found a loaded, gold-plated .45-caliber handgun and personal-use quantities of cocaine, ecstasy, and oxycodone. His earlier felony conviction made the firearm possession illegal. Carter pleaded guilty to the single federal gun count and faced sentencing, but Trump pardoned him before a sentence was imposed. The court dismissed the case in February 2021 following the pardon.

Clemency

On January 19, 2021, Trump granted Carter a full and unconditional pardon before sentencing, ending the covered federal prosecution without a prison term. DOJ’s clemency table and the signed grant contain different dates for the plea and scheduled sentencing, but both identify the same federal gun case and pre-sentence pardon.

Trump Connection

Carter met Trump at the Trump National Doral resort on October 29, 2020, days before the presidential election, to discuss the administration's proposed Platinum Plan for Black America. Carter publicly praised the meeting and Trump's criminal-justice record, although he did not say at the time whether he would vote for Trump. The White House later identified beverage executive Brett Berish and former professional football player Deion Sanders as pardon supporters. Its clemency announcement cited Carter's charitable donations, generosity, faith, and support for his family as the rationale presented for the grant.

Sources

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