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'Hamilton's' Lin-Manuel Miranda Celebrated Commutation for Convicted Terrorist

Lin-Manuel Miranda / AP
January 18, 2017

The creator of the hit broadway musical "Hamilton" is being called out for supporting a convicted terrorist who targeted Americans after he previously paused his show to lecture Vice President-elect Mike Pence on protecting the country's citizens.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote and starred in "Hamilton," had his co-star read a statement on stage to Pence in November when the vice president-elect attended the show. The playwright, a Hillary Clinton supporter, called on Pence to "uphold our American values and work on behalf of all of us" because he is afraid the incoming Trump administration will not protect all Americans.

However, Miranda celebrated on Twitter after President Obama on Tuesday commuted the prison sentence for Oscar Lopez Rivera, a member of the Armed Forces of National Liberation, known by its Spanish acronym FALN, Mediaite reported.

FALN was a communist group dedicated to Puerto Rican independence that used terrorism inside the United States to promote its cause. Lopez Rivera was a key figure behind several bombings in the U.S. in the 1970s and 1980s, some of which killed Americans.

Miranda took to Twitter on Tuesday to express his joy over Lopez Rivera's reduced sentence.

Lopez Rivera was sentenced to 55 years in prison in 1981 for "seditious conspiracy" and other felonies. That was not the end of his convictions, according to CNN.

He was later sentenced to an additional 15 years in 1988 for conspiracy to escape; to transport explosives with intent to kill and injure people; and to destroy government buildings and property.

Lopez Rivera wasn't charged directly in FALN's attacks but more broadly with charges of plotting to overthrow the U.S. government.

His prison sentence was expected to expire in 2051, but he will walk free on May 17, 2017.

President Bill Clinton in 1999 had offered all imprisoned members of the FALN clemency on the condition that they renounce terrorism. Rivera refused Clinton's offer and remained in jail.