President Trump pardons rapper NBA YoungBoy, Cache County officials respond
May 28, 2025, 5:30 PM | Updated: May 29, 2025, 5:57 pm
This story has been edited to include comment from the Cache County Attorney.
SALT LAKE CITY — Rapper NBA YoungBoy, who lives in Utah, has been pardoned by the president.
NBA Youngboy, born as Kentrell DeSean Gaulden, pleaded guilty in September 2024 to federal gun-related charges in Utah.
On Wednesday afternoon, he posted a letter on social media, thanking President Trump for pardoning him. He said he will use the opportunity to keep growing “as a man, as a father, and as an artist.”
NBA YOUNGBOY THANK YOU LETTER TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP 💚 pic.twitter.com/RacvAAgsJC
— Youngboy Snippets (@YoungboySnippet) May 28, 2025
Cache County officials respond to NBA YoungBoy release
On Thursday, Cache County Sheriff D. Chad Jensen responded to Gaulden’s presidential pardon.
Cache County Attorney Taylor Sorensen and I have recently been made aware that President Donald Trump has pardoned Kentrell Desean Gaulden aka NBA Young Boy who pled guilty in November 2024 to his role in a prescription drug fraud ring in Cache County. He also pled guilty to additional charges in other jurisdictions. His pardon comes in a grouping with other convicts across the country. The reason given for these pardons was to correct “a politicized and weaponized justice system.”
We are extremely proud of the work our investigator and prosecutors did on this case as well as grateful for all the help we received from other local and federal agencies. Mr. Gaulden pled guilty to the charges in this investigation, and we feel strongly the Justice System in Cache County is far from a “weaponized system of justice.” We have highly trained, honest, experienced and professional sheriff’s investigators and county prosecutors, along with respected District Court Judges and Defense Attorneys. We, along with all of our staff are proud of the work we do in Cache County.
The rapper has 16 million monthly listeners on Spotify. He was supposed to serve 23 months in prison with five years of probation.
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