John Arthur Johnson, aka Jack Johnson

Original Case

A jury convicted Johnson in 1913 under the Mann Act for transporting Belle Schreiber across state lines. The National Archives describes the prosecution as an example of the racially motivated use of morality law. The preserved jury-verdict sheet records a guilty verdict without enumerating the counts. Johnson was sentenced on September 14, 1920 to one year and one day in prison and a $1,000 fine; that sentencing date is distinct from the 1913 verdict. The White House reported that he served ten months.

Clemency

Full and unconditional posthumous pardon, May 24, 2018, covering the Northern District of Illinois conviction identified in the warrant under the Mann Act. Historical conviction documents remain part of the public record.

Trump Connection

Johnson died in 1946, so the connection was entirely historical and advocacy-driven. Actor Sylvester Stallone raised the case directly with Trump, and Johnson’s family joined a campaign that also drew bipartisan congressional support. Trump signed the posthumous pardon in an Oval Office ceremony with Stallone, Lennox Lewis, Deontay Wilder, and Johnson’s great-great niece, presenting it as a correction of a racially motivated prosecution.

Sources

• Primary Documentation
  DOJ: Pardons Granted by President Donald J. Trump (2017–2021)U.S. Department of Justice2026-09-24
• Primary Documentation
  DOJ clemency document: John Arthur Johnson, aka Jack JohnsonU.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney2026-09-24 active
• Primary Documentation
  Jury verdict historical recordNational Archives
• Primary Documentation
  Pardon ceremony remarksArchived White House
• Primary Documentation
  Death of Jack Johnson, June 10, 1946North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources