MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Former Tennessee state Sen. Brian Kelsey, who was sentenced to 21 months on campaign finance violations, says he has received a presidential pardon after serving two weeks in federal prison.

Kelsey announced on his ‘X’ page Tuesday night and said President Trump had saved him from the “weaponized Biden DOJ.”

“This afternoon, I received a full and unconditional pardon form an act that even my chief accuser admitted I didn’t commit. Thank you for all your prayers! Praise the Lord most high! May God bless America, despite the prosecutorial sins it committed against me, President Trump, and others the past four years. And God bless Donald J. Trump for Making America Great Again,” said Kelsey.

Kelsey, a former Republican state senator from Germantown, was indicted on five counts of campaign violations related to his failed 2016 run for the U.S. House of Representatives.

He pleaded guilty to two counts in 2022 and was sentenced to 21 months in prison.

In 2023, he withdrew his guilty plea, saying he was confused and inexperienced with the criminal justice system.

Last month, a federal judge denied Kelsey’s motion to stay out of prison while the court considered a request to vacate his sentence.

The court said it did not believe the Georgetown-educated lawyer and former state senator did not understand the law. Kelsey appealed the sentence, but it was upheld.

Kelsey, 47, was serving his time FCI Ashland in Ashland, Kentucky.

Worth Morgan, chairman of the Shelby County Republican Party, said he was surprised by the news.

“My initial response is, I think I was surprised like everybody else,” Morgan said. “President Trump has been in office for several months now, and this case has been going on for years, so you would think a pardon would come before he turns himself into prison.” 

Morgan argued that Kelsey’s sentence did not match his crime in this case, and politics could have been involved.

“These are good laws, they should be in place. If somebody breaks them they should be held to account. But the questions is, when that prosecution becomes so excessive that it starts to take a vengeful or political tint to it, what is to be done?” Morgan asked.

He also speculated that this pardon could set a political precedent.

“This might not be the end of a long line of pardons, regardless of who is in office,” Morgan said. “Might be just the beginning.”