Biden Pardons Chicagoan Who Was 1st Black Secret Service Agent

CHICAGO — Abraham Bolden, the first African American to serve on White House Secret Service duty, has been pardoned by President Joe Biden, who granted clemency to 75 people, including three from Illinois, the White House announced on Tuesday.

Bolden, a Chicago native, was charged in 1964 with offenses related to trying to sell a copy of his Secret Service file, according to the White House. Bolden’s first trial ended in a hung jury and Bolden, now 86, was convicted in his second trial. He was denied a new trial following the conviction despite the fact that several key witnesses against him admitted to lying as per the prosecutor’s instructions, the White House said.

He ended up serving several years in federal custody after being sentenced to spend more than six years in prison. Bolden was one of three people pardoned by Biden on Tuesday.

“He has steadfastly maintained his innocence, arguing that he was targeted for prosecution in retaliation for exposing unprofessional and racist behavior within the U.S. Secret Service,” the White House said in a news release announcing the pardon. “Mr. Bolden has received numerous honors and awards for his ongoing work to speak out against the racism he faced in the Secret Service in the 1960s, and his courage in challenging injustice. Mr. Bolden has also been recognized for his many contributions to his community following his release from prison.”

Bolden was granted the pardon while Odell Givens of Crete, Rachel Lynn Hanson of Richton Park, and Colleen Mossberger of Crest Hill were given clemency by Biden on Tuesday, the White House said.

Bolden, who served President John F. Kennedy’s Secret Service detail, told ABC7 that the assassination plot against Kennedy was to have taken place in Chicago, not Dallas. Bolden told the station in an interview that the White House canceled Kennedy’s planned trip to Chicago because the president’s life was in such extreme danger.

Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas three weeks later.

Bolden sought pardons from presidents Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, before Biden announced the pardon for the former Secret Service agent on Tuesday.

“America is a nation of laws and second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation,” Biden said in a statement, announcing the recipients of the pardons and clemency.

Biden said he was granting the pardons to people who have “demonstrated their commitment to rehabilitation” and are “striving every day to give back and contribute to their communities.”