Arizona Representative Raúl Grijalva speaks out prior to a rally for Leonard Peltier's release

Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and others were speaking out against the continued imprisonment of Native American activist Leonard Peltier and were advocating for his release, according to a news release.

Peltier is currently serving two life sentences for his alleged role in the deaths of two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents during a shootout, which occurred on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in 1975, according to a news release.

The news release said Peltier has served nearly 50 years in prison for a crime he may not have committed. They said there were major flaws in the prosecution of his case that have come to light in recent years, such as the FBI’s withholding of evidence and witness tampering.

The rally takes place on Peltier's 79th birthday, Sept. 12, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. It will be held by the NDN Collective and Amnesty International USA. The release said hundreds of leaders and activists who traveled in a caravan that started on the Pine Ridge Reservation will converge in front of the White House.

"On his 79th birthday and nearly 50 years after he was wrongfully imprisoned, Mr. Peltier’s continued incarceration stands as a grim symbol of this country’s long history of stealing life and legacy from Indigenous communities," Grijalva said in a statement. "President Biden should take the opportunity today to correct the record with a grant of clemency and show that these injustices will no longer be tolerated at the hands of the U.S. government. Mr. Peltier’s next birthday should be spent at home with friends and family, not in a prison cell.”

According to the release, key people involved in Peltier's prosecution have stepped forward to advocate for his release.

• Gerald Heaney- called for his release in 1991 and 2001- the judge who presided over Peltier's 1986 appeal in the Eighth circuit court.

• James Reynolds called on President Biden to commute the remainder of his sentence- former U.S. Attorney whose office handled the prosecution and appeal of Peltier's case.

• Coleen Rowley wrote a leader to President Biden in 2022 in support of clemency for Peltier- retired FBI Special Agent.

"The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention specifically noted the anti-Indigenous bias surrounding Peltier’s detention, stating simply that he “continues to be detained because he is Native American.”

Led by Native American activists, the news release said the rally would build upon decades of advocacy that surrounded Leonard Peltier's case. They said Peltier's continued incarceration was a symbol of historical injustice.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Hundreds to rally at White House for the release of Leonard Peltier