Trump pardons rapper NBA Youngboy, who was sentenced for gun-related charges

Louisiana rap artist NBA YoungBoy, who was sentenced to just under two years in prison on gun-related charges, was pardoned by President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

The rapper is among a number of high-profile people Trump pardoned this week, including a former New York congressman, a labor union leader and a reality TV star couple.

“I want to thank President Trump for granting me a pardon and giving me the opportunity to keep building — as a man, as a father, and as an artist,” NBA YoungBoy, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, said in a statement posted online.

Gaulden’s pardon was confirmed Wednesday evening by two White House officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail actions that had not yet been formally made public. 

In 2024, Gaulden was sentenced by a federal judge in Utah after he acknowledged possessing weapons despite being a convicted felon. He reached an agreement that resolved Utah state charges against him and settled two sets of federal charges against him — one carried a 23-month sentence and the other ordered five years of probation and a $200,000 fine