Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump on Thursday granted a posthumous pardon to boxer Jack Johnson on the advice of actor Sylvester Stallone.

"Today I've issued an executive grant of clemency, a full pardon, posthumously, to John Arthur 'Jack' Johnson ... The first African-American heavyweight champion of the world, a truly great fighter. Had a tough life," Trump said.

Trump was joined in the Oval Office by Stallone, current heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, and Johnson's great-great niece Linda Bell Haywood, among others.

"We have done something today that was very important, because we righted a wrong," Trump said. "Jack Johnson was not treated fairly, and we have corrected that, and I'm very honored to have done it."

Last month, Trump said he was considering the pardon.

Sylvester Stallone called me with the story of heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson. His trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial. Others have looked at this over the years, most thought it would be done, but yes, I am considering a Full Pardon! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2018

Read More</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday issued a pardon for the late boxer Jack Johnson, an African-American convicted a century ago for the crime of taking a woman across state lines, saying the move corrected a wrong in American history.

The heavyweight champion was arrested in 1912 with Lucille Cameron, a white woman who would later become his wife, for violating the Mann Act, a law that had passed two years earlier in response to a morality campaign.</s>Bettmann / Contributor(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump signed a full posthumous pardon for former heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson in a surprise Oval Office ceremony alongside actor Sylvester Stallone, former heavyweight boxer Lennox Lewis, and others.

“It’s my honor to do it. It’s about time,” Trump said during the ceremony in the Oval Office.

Just 30 minutes before reporters were called to the event, Stallone posted a picture of himself on Instagram.

“He was treated very rough, very tough,” Trump said of Johnson on Thursday as he signed the pardon.

In 1913, Johnson, a noted boxing legend, was convicted by an all-white jury with violating the Mann Act after transporting a white woman he was dating across state lines for “immoral purposes.”

He served one year in prison.

Others have taken up the cause for Johnson to receive a rare posthumous pardon including Senators John McCain, R-Arizona, Harry Reid, R-Nevada, and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. Earlier this year, McCain, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y., reintroduced legislation urging a posthumous pardon.

Last month, Trump tweeted that “Sylvester Stallone called me with the story of heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson,” the president tweeted Saturday. “His trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial. Others have looked at this over the years, most thought it would be done, but yes, I am considering a Full Pardon!”

Trump’s other recent pardons include Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff Scooter Libby.</s>WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday granted a rare posthumous pardon to boxing's first black heavyweight champion, clearing Jack Johnson's name more than 100 years after what many see as his racially-charged conviction.

"It's my honour to do it. It's about time," Trump said during an Oval Office ceremony, where he was joined by boxer Lennox Lewis and actor Sylvester Stallone, who has drawn awareness to Johnson's cause.

Trump said Johnson had served 10 months in prison for what many view as a racially-motivated injustice and described his decision as an effort "to correct a wrong in our history."

"He represented something that was both very beautiful and very terrible at the same time," Trump said.

Johnson was convicted in 1913 by an all-white jury for violating the Mann Act, which made it illegal to transport women across state lines for "immoral" purposes, for travelling with his white girlfriend.

Trump had said previously that Stallone had brought Johnson's story to his attention in a phone call.

"His trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial," Trump tweeted in April. "Others have looked at this over the years, most thought it would be done, but yes, I am considering a Full Pardon!"

Johnson is a legendary figure in boxing and crossed over into popular culture decades ago with biographies, dramas and documentaries following the civil rights era.

He died in 1946. His great-great niece has pressed Trump for a posthumous pardon, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., have been pushing Johnson's case for years.

The son of former slaves, Johnson defeated Tommy Burns for the heavyweight title in 1908 at a time when blacks and whites rarely entered the same ring. He then mowed down a series of "great white hopes," culminating in 1910 with the undefeated former champion, James J. Jeffries.

McCain previously told The Associated Press that Johnson "was a boxing legend and pioneer whose career and reputation were ruined by a racially charged conviction more than a century ago."

"Johnson's imprisonment forced him into the shadows of bigotry and prejudice, and continues to stand as a stain on our national honour," McCain has said.

Posthumous pardons are rare, but not unprecedented. President Bill Clinton pardoned Henry O. Flipper, the first African-American officer to lead the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War, and Bush pardoned Charles Winters, an American volunteer in the Arab-Israeli War convicted of violating the U.S. Neutrality Acts in 1949.

Linda E. Haywood, the great-great niece, wanted Barack Obama, the nation's first black president, to pardon Johnson, but Justice Department policy says "processing posthumous pardon petitions is grounded in the belief that the time of the officials involved in the clemency process is better spent on the pardon and commutation requests of living persons."

The Justice Department makes decisions on potential pardons through an application process and typically makes recommendations to the president. The general DOJ policy is to not accept applications for posthumous pardons for federal convictions, according to the department's website. But Trump has shown a willingness to work around the DOJ process in the past.

Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report.</s>President Donald Trump on Thursday granted a posthumous pardon to boxer Jack Johnson on the advice of actor Sylvester Stallone.

“Today I’ve issued an executive grant of clemency, a full pardon, posthumously, to John Arthur ‘Jack’ Johnson … The first African-American heavyweight champion of the world, a truly great fighter. Had a tough life,” Trump said.

Trump was joined in the Oval Office by Stallone, current heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, and Johnson’s great-great niece Linda Bell Haywood, among others.

“We have done something today that was very important, because we righted a wrong,” Trump said. “Jack Johnson was not treated fairly, and we have corrected that, and I’m very honored to have done it.”

Last month, Trump said he was considering the pardon.

“Sylvester Stallone called me with the story of heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson. His trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial,” Trump tweeted. “Others have looked at this over the years, most thought it would be done, but yes, I am considering a Full Pardon!”

Johnson, the first African-American world heavyweight boxing champion, was convicted in 1913 under the Mann Act for taking his white girlfriend across state lines for “immoral” purposes. The Mann Act purported to prevent human trafficking for the purpose of prostitution, but critics have argued it was applied inconsistently to criminalize African Americans and those with dissenting political views.

Johnson was convicted by an all-white jury in less than two hours and was imprisoned for a year. The sentence and imprisonment destroyed the boxing career of the “Galveston Giant.” He died in 1946.

“It’s incredible that you’ve done this,” the “Rocky” star told the President.

“It’s an honor to take a fictional character like Rocky and do something in the world of reality,” Stallone said, thanking Johnson’s niece.

In 2016, then-Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, and Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, along with Reps. Peter King, R-New York, and Gregory Meeks, D-New York, petitioned the Obama administration to grant a pardon to Johnson. The bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to the White House asking that the pardon be given in honor of the 70th anniversary of the boxer’s death.

“While it is unfortunate that this unjust conviction was not corrected during the boxer’s lifetime, a posthumous pardon today represents the opportunity to reaffirm Jack Johnson’s substantial contributions to our society and right this historical wrong,” the letter said.

In March 2017, Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, joined with McCain, King and Meeks to reintroduce a resolution urging Johnson’s pardon.

“Despite this resolution passing both chambers of Congress several times in recent years, no pardon has been issued to date,” McCain said in a statement at the time. “I hope President Trump will seize the opportunity before him to right this historical wrong and restore a great athlete’s legacy.”</s>President Donald Trump on Thursday granted a posthumous pardon to boxer Jack Johnson on the advice of actor Sylvester Stallone.

“Today I’ve issued an executive grant of clemency, a full pardon, posthumously, to John Arthur ‘Jack’ Johnson … The first African-American heavyweight champion of the world, a truly great fighter. Had a tough life,” Trump said.

Trump was joined in the Oval Office by Stallone, current heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, and Johnson’s great-great niece Linda Bell Haywood, among others.

“We have done something today that was very important, because we righted a wrong,” Trump said. “Jack Johnson was not treated fairly, and we have corrected that, and I’m very honored to have done it.”

Last month, Trump said he was considering the pardon.

“Sylvester Stallone called me with the story of heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson. His trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial,” Trump tweeted. “Others have looked at this over the years, most thought it would be done, but yes, I am considering a Full Pardon!”

Johnson, the first African-American world heavyweight boxing champion, was convicted in 1913 under the Mann Act for taking his white girlfriend across state lines for “immoral” purposes. The Mann Act purported to prevent human trafficking for the purpose of prostitution, but critics have argued it was applied inconsistently to criminalize African Americans and those with dissenting political views.

Johnson was convicted by an all-white jury in less than two hours and was imprisoned for a year. The sentence and imprisonment destroyed the boxing career of the “Galveston Giant.” He died in 1946.

“It’s incredible that you’ve done this,” the “Rocky” star told the President.

“It’s an honor to take a fictional character like Rocky and do something in the world of reality,” Stallone said, thanking Johnson’s niece.

The pardon was originally proposed in 2004 by a group that included filmmaker Ken Burns, boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, and artists Chuck D and Wynton Marsalis.

“It is the right thing to do. I’m just so happy that Sen. John McCain, who has led our efforts to achieve a posthumous pardon for Jack Johnson, has lived to witness this moment,” Burns said in a statement.

“The pardon announced today helps correct an injustice experienced by Jack Johnson. But it also reminds us of a racist past and how even today racist remarks and coded words are used to imperil African-Americans, especially black men, and to advance an un-American agenda,” he added.

In 2016, then-Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, and McCain, along with Reps. Peter King, R-New York, and Gregory Meeks, D-New York, petitioned the Obama administration to grant a pardon to Johnson. The bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to the White House asking that the pardon be given in honor of the 70th anniversary of the boxer’s death.

“While it is unfortunate that this unjust conviction was not corrected during the boxer’s lifetime, a posthumous pardon today represents the opportunity to reaffirm Jack Johnson’s substantial contributions to our society and right this historical wrong,” the letter said.

In March 2017, Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, joined with McCain, King and Meeks to reintroduce a resolution urging Johnson’s pardon.

“Despite this resolution passing both chambers of Congress several times in recent years, no pardon has been issued to date,” McCain said in a statement at the time. “I hope President Trump will seize the opportunity before him to right this historical wrong and restore a great athlete’s legacy.”</s>WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday granted a rare posthumous pardon to boxing's first black heavyweight champion, clearing Jack Johnson's name more than 100 years after what many see as his racially-charged conviction.

"It's my honour to do it. It's about time," Trump said during an Oval Office ceremony, where he was joined by boxer Lennox Lewis and actor Sylvester Stallone, who has drawn awareness to Johnson's cause.

Trump said Johnson had served 10 months in prison for what many view as a racially-motivated injustice and described his decision as an effort "to correct a wrong in our history."

"He represented something that was both very beautiful and very terrible at the same time," Trump said.

Johnson was convicted in 1913 by an all-white jury for violating the Mann Act, which made it illegal to transport women across state lines for "immoral" purposes, for travelling with his white girlfriend.

Trump had said previously that Stallone had brought Johnson's story to his attention in a phone call.

"His trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial," Trump tweeted in April. "Others have looked at this over the years, most thought it would be done, but yes, I am considering a Full Pardon!"

Johnson is a legendary figure in boxing and crossed over into popular culture decades ago with biographies, dramas and documentaries following the civil rights era.

He died in 1946. His great-great niece has pressed Trump for a posthumous pardon, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., have been pushing Johnson's case for years.

The son of former slaves, Johnson defeated Tommy Burns for the heavyweight title in 1908 at a time when blacks and whites rarely entered the same ring. He then mowed down a series of "great white hopes," culminating in 1910 with the undefeated former champion, James J. Jeffries.</s>WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has granted a rare posthumous pardon to boxing’s first black heavyweight champion more than 100 years after what Trump said many feel was a racially motivated injustice.

Jack Johnson was convicted in 1913 by an all-white jury for violating the Mann Act, which made it illegal to transport women across state lines for “immoral” purposes.

Trump was joined by boxer Lennox Lewis and actor Sylvester Stallone as he announced the decision.

Johnson is a legendary figure in boxing who crossed over into popular culture decades ago with biographies, dramas and documentaries following the civil rights era.

He died in 1946. His great-great niece had been pressing for a posthumous pardon.

Sen. John McCain and former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had also pushed Johnson’s case for years.</s>Jack Johnson, boxing’s first Black heavyweight champion, violated the Mann Act back in 1913 when he drove a white woman across state lines in his vehicle. Today, President Donald Trump, flanked by Sylvester Stallone and others, posthumously pardoned the legendary pugilist but some on Twitter viewed it as an empty act.

Joining Stallone in the Oval Office where Trump issued and signed the pardon was WBC Heavyweight World Champion Deontay Wilder and former undisputed World Heavyweight Champion, Lennox Lewis.

Back on July 4, 2010, when President Barack Obama was in office, Sen. John McCain was part of a growing chorus of voices seeking Jackson’s pardon along with an aggressive campaign from the family. Just under eight years later, the dream was realized in a moment that observers see as nothing more than a Trump photo op.

“If he was President 100 years ago, Trump would have had Jack Johnson deported,” Sportswriter David Zirin wrote in a retweet caption sharing the news.

Reaction across Twitter has moved Jack Johnson’s name near or at the top of Twitter’s Trending Topics section and we’ve collected some of the responses below and on the following pages.</s>Donald Trump pardoned the first African American Heavyweight Champion Jack Johnson yesterday, more than 100 years after he was convicted and sentenced for violating the Mann Act, which forbid transporting a woman across state lines for, quote, "immoral purposes."
U.S. President Donald Trump posthumously pardons boxer Jack Johnson who was convicted for "taking his white girlfriend across state lines for 'immoral' purposes" in 1912.