President Trump on Wednesday pardoned Lil Wayne in a gun-possession case that could have put him back behind bars for up to 10 years.
“President Trump granted a full pardon to Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., also known as ‘Lil Wayne,'” read a statement from The White House.
“Mr. Carter pled guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, owing to a conviction over 10 years ago,” the statement read.
The White House cited athlete Deion Sanders, who wrote in support of Lil’ Wayne’s pardon.
Sanders called the rapper “a provider for his family, a friend to many, a man of faith, a natural giver to the less fortunate, a waymaker, a game changer.”
The “Lollipop’’ rapper pleaded guilty in Florida last month to a felony gun charge after authorities, acting on a tip, found a loaded .45-caliber pistol in a bag on his private plane after it landed at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport in December 2019.
In addition to the gold-plated Remington 1911 with pearl grips, officials alleged that the bag contained “personal use amounts” of cocaine, ecstasy and oxycodone.
The heavily tattooed rapper, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., had yet to be sentenced and faced up to a decade behind bars — since he was already convicted of a felony gun charge in 2009.
That case, which involved a .40-caliber Springfield Armory pistol found on his tour bus after a Manhattan concert, landed him on Rikers Island for eight months.
Lil Wayne spent the final month of that sentence in solitary confinement after getting caught with a prohibited MP3 player, battery charger and earphones in his cell.
His pardon was among a wave of last-minute clemencies the White House announced ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday and followed nearly 90 pardons and commutations previously granted by Trump since 2017.
In October, Lil Waybe all but endorsed Trump’s re-election bid following a meeting in Miami, where he lauded the president’s criminal-justice reform efforts and “Platinum Plan” to boost investment in black neighborhoods, which he said “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,” Lil Wayne tweeted, along with a photo showing him and Trump making thumbs-up signs in front of three American flags.