President Donald Trump said Saturday that he was considering “a Full Pardon!” for boxing’s first black heavyweight champion, more than 100 years after Jack Johnson was convicted by an all-white jury of “immorality” in connection with one of his relationships.
Trump tweeted that actor Sylvester Stallone had called him to share Johnson’s story. The president said Johnson’s “trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial.”
The president added: “Others have looked at this over the years, most thought it would be done, but yes, I am considering a Full Pardon!”
Johnson was convicted in 1913 of violating the Mann Act, which made it illegal to transport women across state lines for “immoral” purposes.
The boxer died in 1946. His great-great-niece has pressed Trump for a posthumous pardon.
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