Rapper Lil Wayne has received an executive pardon from Donald Trump today (20 January) in the outgoing President's final few hours in office.
Lil Wayne - real name Dwayne Carter - pleaded guilty in December to possessing a loaded, gold-plated .45-caliber handgun while travelling on a private plane to South Florida from California for Christmas in 2019.
The rapper was also carrying personal use amounts of cocaine, ecstasy and oxycodone.
He was due to be sentenced on 28 January and could have faced up to ten years in prison.
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Lil Wayne featured on a list of 73 names granted clemency by Trump, which also includes rapper Kodak Black and the outgoing President's former advisor Steve Bannon.
The list of pardons does not include Tiger King star Joe Exotic, despite the former zoo owner's legal team going as far as parking a limo nearby the prison where Exotic is incarcerated in Fort Worth, Texas.
Bradford Cohen, attorney from both Lil Wayne and Kodak Black, told Rolling Stone after the pardons were confirmed: "President Trump and his administration have been tireless advocates on behalf of the African-American community.
"These pardons are a perfect example of this administration following up on its reforms and commitments."
Weezy came out as an unlikely supporter of Trump last year before the November elections. He tweeted a picture of himself with the president and said that he supported Trump's work on criminal reform.
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He captioned the picture: "Just had a great meeting with @realdonaldtrump @potus besides what he's done so far with criminal reform, the platinum plan is going to give the community real ownership. He listened to what we had to say today and assured he will and can get it done."
Featured Image Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA via PATopics: US News, Donald Trump