Co-founder of Death Row Records Michael “Harry-O” Harris Jr. formally endorsed Donald Trump during his speech at the former president’s rally in New York City on Sunday.
He thanked Trump for commuting his 2021 prison term. Harris, who co-founded the renowned Hip Hop label with Suge Knight, was convicted of attempted murder and kidnapping in 1988 and locked up for 33 years.
When Harris took the stage at Madison Square Garden over the weekend, he told the crowd, “If it wasn’t for Donald Trump, I wouldn’t be standing here today. So I wanna thank President Donald Trump for allowing me for stand here in front of you today. It’s a bigger story — gotta let you know about it!
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He continued, “God spoke to his heart and Donald Trump signed with his heart my release after 33 years. God spoke to his heart.”
Harris’ sentence was commuted by Trump on his final full day in the White House in January 2021. The producer discovered that he had been granted clemency while spending time at Lompoc Federal Correctional Institution in California for attempted murder and drug trafficking.
The commutation came just hours after the Daily Beast revealed that Snoop Dogg had been secretly collaborating with activist Alice Johnson and producer Weldon Angelos in a “last-ditch effort” to persuade Trump to commute Harris’ sentence, according to HipHopDX.
Earlier this month, Harris told AllHipHop that he had not decided on a candidate and explained why. “My concern is the community first and whoever supports that. I thanked Trump for letting me out. I done that. You know what I mean? Three years ago, I thanked him for that. I really meant that. I thank God every day for that. But when it comes to the community, I don’t play with that. So it’s about who has the policies or are willing to get behind policies that will affect our daily lives.”
His co-founder Knight, meanwhile, is still incarcerated in Wasco State Prison, where he has been since 2015 in connection with Terry Carter’s hit-and-run death. The disgraced record boss was given 28 years and will be eligible for parole in 2037.
