For the family of Annie Mae Pictou Aquash, the news that President Biden had granted clemency to Native American activist Leonard Peltier shortly before leaving office came as a surprise.

In the final hours of President Joe Biden’s term, he granted Leonard Peltier clemency through commutation, allowing him to serve his life sentence at home on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota.

HuffPost unpacks why Joe Biden granting clemency to Native American activist Leonard Peltier in the final moments of his presidency is so significant.

The president commuted Peltier over the objection of former FBI Director Christopher Wray. In a private letter sent to Biden earlier this month and obtained by The Associated Press, Wray reiterated his position that “Peltier is a remorseless killer,” and urged the president not to act.

President Biden commuted the prison sentence of Leonard Peltier, an imprisoned Native American rights activist, using his final minutes of presidential power on Monday to free a man who has spent nearly 50 years in federal prison after he was convicted of murder in connection with the killing of two F.B.I. agents.

Former President Biden commuted the life sentence of Native American activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents, against the urgings of former FBI Director Christopher Wray.

The 11th hour clemency of Leonard Peltier has touched off a wave of joy, but it also brings pain to those who believe he should remain in prison for murder.