Left: Henri L. Buckner appears virtually in court from the Bay County Jail on April 13, 2026 (Saginaw County District Court/MLive). Right: Former President Joe Biden speaks to the South Carolina Democratic Party on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley).
A Michigan man whose sentence was commuted by former President Joe Biden has been charged with a crime similar to that for which he was granted clemency.
Henri L. Buckner, 44, has been charged with two counts of possession with intent to deliver a narcotic or cocaine over 1,000 grams, according to Saginaw County court records reviewed by Law&Crime. Records from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) show that on Jan. 17, 2025, days before Biden left office, he commuted Buckner's sentence of more than seven years for distributing more than 28 grams of cocaine base.
Buckner's federal sentence began on May 11, 2023, but with his sentence commuted, he served fewer than two years and was released on March 18, 2025.
In a federal indictment from September 2020, prosecutors maintained that Buckner and four other people were involved in a conspiracy to possess and sell drugs. In April 2021, Buckner pleaded guilty to distributing cocaine base.
Now, just about a year after having his sentence commuted, authorities in Michigan allege that Buckner returned to a life of crime. He was charged along with three other people and faces up to life in prison, MLive reported.
Buckner was charged on Friday and appeared virtually in court on Monday. He is set to return on April 22 for a notice of hearing before a preliminary exam takes place the following week.
Buckner was not the only person who saw a lighter sentence after Biden's action on Jan. 17, 2025. The departing president commuted the sentences of nearly 2,500 people, a record.
His predecessor and successor, President Donald Trump, has since continued the trend, pardoning and commuting the sentences of thousands of defendants, many of whom were involved in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.