Larry Hoover

Larry Hoover Sr. (born November 30, 1950) is an American former gangster and street gang <a href="/facts/Crime_boss/Bv38rYER">kingpin</a>. He is the founder of the <a href="/facts/Gangster_Disciples/wW8uCdpI">Gangster Disciples</a>, a <a href="/facts/Chicago/yPMokrXH">Chicago</a> street gang that over the years extended to multiple cities throughout various states.
Hoover was serving six life sentences at the <a href="/facts/ADX_Florence/73gUFo2c">ADX Florence</a> prison facility in <a href="/facts/Fremont_County%2c_Colorado/UGsc9H3K">Fremont County, Colorado</a>. He was already serving a sentence of 150 to 200 years for a conviction in <a href="/facts/Illinois/MuPb1Ctn">Illinois</a> <a href="/facts/Cook_County_Circuit_Court/K9MtRE6B">state court</a> for the 1973 murder of 19-year-old William Young. However, in 1997, following a 17-year investigation, he was convicted of an additional 40 counts, including <a href="/facts/Conspiracy_(criminal)/SFr9KxYy">conspiracy</a>, <a href="/facts/Extortion/tv3TraAp">extortion</a>, <a href="/facts/Money_laundering/98Gw3mgx">money laundering</a>, and running a <a href="/facts/Continuing_Criminal_Enterprise_Statute/MqNYfb9u">continuing criminal enterprise</a> from inside the state prison, and received additional life terms in <a href="/facts/United_States_District_Court/xBcpTCp0">federal court</a>. He has made multiple attempts to have his sentence shortened.
American rapper and fellow Chicago native <a href="/facts/Kanye_West/9AptrF4P">Kanye West</a> has been a longtime advocate for Hoover's commutation. West urged President <a href="/facts/Donald_Trump/pqqKY21P">Donald Trump</a> to do so at a televised <a href="/facts/White_House/CJQc7dKF">White House</a> event in 2018, hosted the <a href="/facts/Free_Larry_Hoover_Benefit_Concert/H2Jk1tWK">Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert</a> alongside <a href="/facts/Drake_(musician)/yJ5SndUt">Drake</a> in late 2021, and referenced Hoover in songs such as "<a href="/facts/Donda/8zPUN9gC">Jesus Lord</a>" and "<a href="/facts/River_(%25C2%25A5%24_and_Young_Thug_song)/UDfLyCA1">River</a>".
On May 28, 2025, <a href="/facts/Donald_Trump/pqqKY21P">Donald Trump</a> <a href="/facts/Commutation_(law)/Qg5Ynz07">commuted</a> his federal prison sentence. However, Hoover must still serve his 150-to-200-year state sentence for his 1973 murder conviction, but is eligible to seek parole on that charge since the crime was committed before Illinois abolished discretionary parole in 1978. According to the <a href="/facts/Chicago_Sun-Times/Agovkgwy">Chicago Sun-Times</a>, parole is not out of question for Hoover as the Illinois Prisoner Review Board has freed roughly 50 elderly inmates serving time for murder under the old code between 2010 and 2020.

Larry Hoover open-in-new

Larry Hoover